Who is Colin Beattie? Scottish National Party treasurer arrested in finance probe

Colin Beattie has been arrested as part of the Scottish National Party’s finance probe which previously saw Nicola Sturgeon’s husband arrested

The probe into the Scottish National Party’s finances has taken another step forward with the arrest of their treasurer Colin Beattie.

Police said they had arrested the 71-year-old on Tuesday in connection with the ongoing investigation, which has already seen former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell arrested and released without charge at the beginning of April.

Nicola Sturgeon, who is married to Mr Murrell, stepped down as party leader earlier in the year and has now been replaced by Humza Yousaf - the new first minister.

Colin Beattie became an SNP councillor in 2007 and later an MSP (Corbis via Getty)

Mr Beattie served in the treasury role, which oversees financial matters, between 2004 and 2020 and again from 2021 to the present. But the MSP has remained relatively under the radar during his time in office.

Below we look at all we know about Mr Beattie and the latest on the investigation.

Who is Colin Beattie and how long has he been part of the SNP?

Mr Beattie joined the SNP as a 14-year-old and worked as an apprentice at a local bank before spending 23 years in finance in the Middle and Far East.

Upon his return to the UK he worked for 11 years in London before moving to Scottish town Dalkeith with his wife Lisa in 2001.

First elected as a councillor in Midlothian in 2007, Mr Beattie led the SNP group at the local authority.

But in 2011, he moved to Holyrood, being elected as an MSP for the newly-formed Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency.

Despite the SNP being in power throughout his tenure as an MSP, Mr Beattie has never achieved ministerial office, having never been invited by Alex Salmond, Nicola Sturgeon or Humza Yousaf to serve in Government.

His highest office to date has been the national treasurer post, a role he was elected to in a vote by party members in 2004.

In the party’s 2020 internal elections, however, Mr Beattie lost out to MP Douglas Chapman.

But Mr Chapman’s tenure would be short-lived, with him resigning in May 2021, claiming he had not been given enough information to carry out the job.

The following month, Mr Beattie was reinstated to the role.

The arrest comes after Nicola Sturgeon’s husband was arrested and released without charge (PA Wire)

What have police said?

Police Scotland said a report relating to Mr Beattie will be sent to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

A statement read: “A 71-year-old man has today been arrested as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party.

“The man is in custody and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives.”

What is the latest in the investigation?

Police Scotland confirmed they were investigating the party’s finances in July 2021, after seven complaints were made around donations to the SNP.

This followed allegations that £600,000 raised for campaigning towards Scottish independence was diverted elsewhere.

The party said that “all sums raised for independence campaigning will be spent on independence campaigning”.

The probe then moved forward in April this year, when Mr Murrell was arrested, with a large police presence around his home in Glasgow as well as the SNP’s headquarters in Edinburgh.

He was released without charge, pending further investigation, the same day.