Police find no criminality in Yes Scotland finances
Officers say information about the 2014 independence campaign's spending does not warrant an investigation. Former chief executive Blair Jenkins says the claims were based on a misunderstanding of the accounts.
A Yes campaign sign from the 2014 independence referendum. File photo. · Photograph: William Starkey (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Police Scotland says it has not found any criminality after examining a complaint about the finances of Yes Scotland, the official campaign for independence in the 2014 referendum.
In July, the Sunday Mail reported claims by an activist that it was unclear how more than £1.5 million of the organisation's income had been spent.
The complaint was made by David Henry, one of those whose concerns about SNP finances led to the Operation Branchform investigation and the eventual conviction of former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell.
Accounts handed to police
Lawyers for Blair Jenkins, Yes Scotland's former chief executive, said at the time that the allegations were false and that all income had been fully accounted for. The organisation then handed its full accounts to police.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said the information had been assessed and nothing had been found that would warrant further investigation. A letter to those involved said no criminality had been identified in Yes Scotland Ltd's finances and there would be no police investigation at this time.
'Spurious and unfounded'
Aamer Anwar, solicitor for Mr Jenkins, said the original story was based on a very basic misunderstanding of accounts, and described what followed as a desperate attempt to link Peter Murrell's criminal conduct to Yes Scotland.
He said Mr Jenkins was grateful to Police Scotland but sorry that officers had been forced to spend time and resources on spurious and unfounded allegations.
Yes Scotland was launched by former First Minister Alex Salmond in 2012 to campaign for independence and has not been active since the 2014 referendum.