The SNP’s treasurer Colin Beattie MSP has been arrested amid the ongoing police investigation into the party’s funding and finances.

Police Scotland confirmed on Tuesday morning that a 71-year-old man had been taken into custody as a suspect in connection with the probe.

Beattie, the MSP Midlothian North and Musselburgh, is in custody and is being questioned by detectives, the force said.

A report will be sent to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

The matter is active for the purposes of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 and the police advised the public to exercise caution if discussing it on social media.

“As the investigation is ongoing we are unable to comment further,” a Police Scotland spokesperson said.

Beattie has been an MSP since 2011 having previously been an international banker for more than 20 years.

He was the SNP’s treasurer from 2004 until 2020, before being briefly replaced by Douglas Chapman.

Chapman resigned in May 2021, saying he “had not received the support or financial information required to carry out the fiduciary duties of national treasurer”.

A leaked video reportedly from a virtual meeting of the party’s ruling body on March 20, 2021, published by the Sunday Mail at the weekend appeared to show then-party leader Nicola Sturgeon playing down concerns about the SNP’s finances.

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