A former director of Yes Scotland, the pro-independence campaign group established by the Scottish National Party (SNP), has alleged that Peter Murrell, the former SNP chief executive, maintained tight control over the group's finances and operations. Ian Dommett, who served as Yes Scotland's marketing director until January 2014, stated that revenue from merchandise sales was directed to the SNP and that donations were not fully disclosed to the campaign group.
Dommett claimed that "nothing happened in Yes Scotland without either the direct instruction or agreement of the SNP," adding that the party's influence was "around the neck of Yes Scotland from the beginning." He described Murrell's control as if his "foot was on the pipe," indicating that financial resources were not flowing freely to the campaign. Dommett also alleged that revenue from Yes Scotland merchandise sold at an SNP conference stall in 2012 went directly to the party.
These assertions come in the wake of a complaint filed with Police Scotland concerning allegations that approximately £1.5 million is unaccounted for from Yes Scotland's past financial records. The group was established as a cross-party campaign entity in advance of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. David Henry, who previously sought the position of SNP national secretary, has reportedly made a formal complaint to the police regarding the missing funds and the potential involvement of SNP staff as "shadow directors" of Yes Scotland.
Murrell was recently sentenced to five years in prison for embezzling £400,000 from the SNP. Regarding the financial allegations, Dommett stated, "The money wasn’t trickling down, that was the problem." He further noted a "blurring of responsibilities and accounts between Yes Scotland and the SNP."
Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton criticized the implications of Dommett's claims, stating they paint a "troubling picture of how the Yes campaign was run." She added, "The SNP insisted Yes Scotland was a separate organisation, but this account suggests something very different." Hamilton called for answers from current and former SNP leadership, including John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon.
In response to the allegations, an SNP spokesperson asserted that "Yes Scotland Ltd is and was an entirely separate entity." A spokesperson for Yes Scotland Ltd, which remains an active company that files annual accounts, stated, "All of the income received by Yes Scotland is fully accounted for and it is grossly defamatory to say otherwise." The company representative also claimed that "Mr Murrell never had access to Yes Scotland’s accounts" and that "No donations to Yes Scotland were held separately, nor were the donations or accounts ever controlled by the SNP."