Sunak’s integrity not in doubt, despite inquiry by parliament watchdog, says minister

Key events

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Labour says Scotland deserves better than 'divided and distracted SNP'

The arrest of the SNP’s treasurer (see 9.30am) is obviously a gift for Scottish Labour. The party has this morning posted this on Twitter, highlighting a speech Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, gave yesterday.

Last night the Scottish government released an extract from the statement Humza Yousaf will deliver to MSPs today about his priorities for government. He will say:

In just under three weeks, this government has tripled our support for households struggling with high energy bills with our £30m fuel insecurity fund, announced an additional £25m to help the north-east become the net zero capital of the world, and reinforced our commitment to supporting families with a £15m investment in free high-quality school age childcare.

These measures will make a real difference, and have come as a response to the challenges presented by our ongoing recovery from the Covid pandemic and a cost of living crisis exacerbated by Brexit and the UK government’s economic mismanagement, as well as climate change impacts and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine …

My cabinet has considered how we can build a better future for Scotland and the outcomes necessary to achieve that – through a determined focus on reducing poverty and strengthening public services, seizing the opportunity to build a growing and green wellbeing economy through the net zero transition and supporting business, and reaffirming our commitment to equality, inclusion, and human rights in everything we do.

We will do so using the powers of devolution to their maximum, whilst making the case that as an independent nation, we can do so much more to make Scotland a wealthier, fairer, and greener country.

Yousaf is also due to publish a policy prospectus for his government.

Humza Yousaf. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Today was meant to be the day Humza Yousaf, the new SNP leader and Scottish first minister, performed a government relaunch. He is due to address the Scottish parliament this afternoon to set out his priorities for Scotland. But instead the news is dominated by another SNP arrest.

This is from the Scottish commentator Iain Macwhirter.

And this is from the Herald’s Tom Gordon.

SNP treasurer Colin Beattie arrested by Scottish police as part of probe into party's funding and finances

The SNP’s treasurer, Colin Beattie, has been arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National party, Police Scotland has announced.

A Police Scotland statement said:

A 71-year-old man has today, Tuesday, 18 April 2023, 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.

A report will be sent to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

The matter is active for the purposes of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 and the public are therefore advised to exercise caution if discussing it on social media.

As the investigation is ongoing we are unable to comment further.

The SNP has been in crisis since Nicola Sturgeon stepped down as first minister, and the police intensified their investigation into mishandling of party finances. To what extent Sturgeon’s resignation was linked to the party’s financial problems remains unclear, but last week her husband, Peter Murrell, who had been the SNP’s chief executive while she was leader, was arrested by police as part of the same investigation. He was released without being charged pending further investigations.

Rishi Sunak’s integrity not in doubt, despite inquiry by parliament watchdog, says minister

Good morning. Rishi Sunak will be chairing cabinet this morning, in the awkward position of having joined the list of MPs being investigated by the parliamentary commissioner for standards. Chris Philp, the policing minister, has been giving interviews this morning and he told GB News that Sunak’s integrity was not in doubt.

Referring to Sunak’s appearance at the liaison committee last month, and an evasive answer that triggered the complaint to the standards commissioner, Philp said:

I think no one really doubts Rishi’s integrity and ethics. He has declared his wife’s interests in his ministerial declaration. He did draw attention to that to the committee when he gave evidence and he also wrote to them subsequently as well.

He will work with the standards commissioner to clear up any questions that are outstanding.

But I don’t think there’s anything sinister here, he has made his declaration.

Philp’s account rather glosses over the fact that, when Sunak, as he puts it, drew the committee’s attention to the fact that he had relevant interests to declare, what Sunak actually said was that he did not have anything to declare. And such declarations as he had made had been made in private, for publication in a document (the updated list of ministers’ interests) that is still not out. That is hardly a good example of the “accountability” he promised when he took office.

In her London Playbook briefing for Politico, Rosa Prince says No 10 is confident Sunak will be cleared and quotes this defence from an insider.

A government official suggested that Sunak had not been asked a specific question about Koru Kids, and could not be expected to be across every firm his wife invested in, given her wide range of financial interests. He told the committee he had made all the correct declarations because he had lodged his wife’s financial affairs with the Cabinet Office. And the fact that the register of interests has not been published in over a year is a result of the high turnover of ministers in recent months, and the fact there was no independent adviser until recently.

Here is the agenda for the day.

9.15am: Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, gives a speech at the Queen’s University Belfast conference on the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement.

Morning: Rishi Sunak chairs cabinet.

11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

Morning: Keir Starmer is campaigning in York.

12.15pm: Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, gives a speech to the Scottish TUC conference in Dundee.

2.20pm: Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s new first minister, gives a statement to MSPs setting out his priorities for government.

Also, James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, is at the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Japan, and Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, is in Washington.

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