It’s no surprise that neither Police nor the Crown thought there was any criminality involved in the Indy Ref 2 funds story. Both organisations view these matters as largely internal and given the wording of what people donated to it was always unlikely. They’ll see it as being for members or the Electoral Commission. But that doesn’t mean that in the wider court of public opinion or more importantly the Independence Movement, that they’re exonerated.
For they most certainly wont be in the latter and in the former it just adds to growing incredulity, if just concern at what’s going on in Scotland’s governing party. For as ever, its the lies that catch you out. It seems funds were there, then they weren’t and now it’s they are but they aren’t.
When I was a party member the National Treasurer assured me that they were there, just threaded through the accounts. A phrase I’d never heard whether in Accounts for LLB students or during my many years as Cashroom Partner operating under very strict Law Society rules. That fiction remained for quite a while and the then National Treasurer was comfortably defeated in an internal party election, only for his successor to resign claiming he’d been denied access to information necessary to conduct the duties of his office. Then the First Minister when challenged in a TV interview suggested that the funds weren’t there after all, despite the previous protestations.
Now it seems accepted that its been used for revenue purposes but all’s well and good as they’ll ensure its used in the future for Indy Ref purposes. To cap it all off, restored to the post of National Treasurer’s the man who assured me and others that it was all there, just threaded through. Defeated in the democratic vote he’s returned Lazarus like to the post, albeit requiring to accept a new narrative even if no doubt still unaware of the full facts which saw his predecessor resign.
There’s been a breach of trust with the Indy movement and it’s not just delay but dishonesty that’s now the problem.