The latest revelation in the ongoing saga of the long-time First Couple of the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) would sound distinctly desi to many Indians. As part of the probe into SNP’s finances, investigators have “seized” (a very familiar word in India) a £110,000 motor home from the premises of Margaret Murrell, mother of the party’s former boss Peter Murrell and mother-in-law of Nicola Sturgeon who recently stepped down as Scotland’s First Minister.

This brings a new twist to the police probe into the “missing” £600,000 raised in 2017 to fund SNP’s campaign for a second independence referendum. There was no referendum campaign, yet by 2019 there was just £97,000 in SNP’s account though the top brass (including Murrell, who helmed the fundraiser) insisted at the time that the money could be availed “at a moment’s notice”. But SNP’s treasurer resigned in 2021 citing lack of transparency on finances.

A probe was then inevitable. More so as Murrell loaned £107,000 it seems, to the party in June 2021 to get over “cash flow problems” and was repaid half by October. And now this luxury van has surfaced — which actually belongs to the SNP but was parked at Murrell’s mother’s house! The party, by the way, depends on small contributions by individual donors rather than big backers. This retail mode of fundraising will sound familiar to many Indians.

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