SNP urged to ‘come clean’ over ‘illegal’ claims for Covid support

The SNP has been urged to “come clean” on the number of its party offices that wrongfully claimed Covid business support.

Both Arbroath and the Montrose branch had made successful £10,000 business support grant applications to Angus Council in July last year for help under the lifeline scheme.

However, they have now been told grants do not go to political parties and been ordered to refund the money.

It has now emerged that local branches may have been encouraged by a senior nationalist figure to play the system.

Social media posts from Dr Tim Rideout, part of the SNP’S policy development committee, appear to show members being encouraged to apply.

The convener of the Scottish Currency Group, Dr Tim appeared to write on Facebook: “I have made over £50k for the indy cause today”.

In a post on July 8, Dr Rideout said it would be a “criminal waste” for independence supporters to miss out on claiming the cash.

He wrote: “If you have any connection to any Yes group that either owns or is the tenant of shop premises, an office or similar then please ensure they have submitted an application for the Covid-19 business support grant of £10,000.”

In an apparent reference to UK chancellor Rishi Sunak, Dr Rideout added: “Yes, that is a free gift of £10,000 per premise (sic) that the lovely and kind Rishi Washi is handing out to Yes groups.”

The posts and comment have since been deleted from the Scottish Currency Group Facebook page.

It is understood his posts did not relate to SNP activity and was not encouraged by the party.

Now the Scottish Conservative candidate for Angus South, Maurice Golden, has demanded answers.

He said: “This ruse has already resulted in the SNP paying back £20,000 for falsely claiming taxpayers’ money.

“Now that it has emerged that senior nationalists were actively encouraging local branches to play the system, it’s possible that other SNP outlets across the country will have benefited too.

“The SNP need to investigate how widespread this problem is and come clean about how much they claimed in total.

“If they won’t come clean, we may need a police investigation to examine if there has been an attempt at fraud here.

“This cash was designed to help honest businesses through a global pandemic which has cost thousands of lives in Scotland.

“Instead, the nationalists used it to line the pockets of their own selfish cause.”

Last night, Nicola Sturgeon claimed she was “not aware” of other branches being involved.

She said: “The rules weren’t broken but it’s not appropriate.

"The money in one case has been paid back and in the other case, is in the process of being paid back and that’s the right thing to do.”