The SNP have finally appointed a new Chief Executive to replace Peter Murrell, who resigned shortly before his arrest earlier this year. The man they’ve found to replace him is none other than Murray Foote… who himself resigned as the SNP’s head of media just months ago after the party misled journalists over its membership figures. He also called the ongoing police probe into the SNP’s finances a “grotesque circus” that won’t amount to any charges.

Foote was selected after what the SNP is calling a “rigorous, open recruitment process” that “generated significant interest from a range of high-quality candidates“. Apparently they were of a lesser quality than the man who claimed it was “drivel” that the SNP had lost 30,000 members in two years. That turned out to be true.

Foote said today:

“I am delighted to take up this important role and look forward to helping build the campaign for independence, both by strengthening the SNP’s headquarter functions and supporting the party’s formidable organisation across Scotland.”

With Labour snapping at their heels, the SNP really do need to put their best Foote forward…

Nicola Sturgeon has told LBC’s Iain Dale that her resignation as First Minister of Scotland “100 per cent” had absolutely nothing to do with the police inquiry into the SNP’s finances. Nothing. Zero.

Speaking at the Edinburgh Fringe festival this afternoon, Sturgeon rejected claims her sudden resignation – which came just weeks after she claimed to have “plenty left in the tank” – was influenced by the ongoing probe which led to her arrest last month… along with the arrest of her husband Peter Murrell and former SNP Treasurer Colin Beattie. So what caused her to change her mind so quickly? Sturgeon claims she doesn’t know. Apparently “It must have been in [her] subconscious somewhere”…

Nonetheless, she assured the crowd she was telling the truth when she said she had “plenty left“, “until suddenly [she] didn’t“. She also claimed to have no knowledge the police were about to knock on her door and arrest her. Until suddenly she did…

Nicola Sturgeon faced reporters outside Holyrood today and one particular response caught Guido’s attention. After pleading her case, Sturgeon was asked if she could also vouch for her husband’s innocence:

“I can only speak for myself and I am only speaking for myself”.

‘Til arrest do us part…

Nicola Sturgeon could be next in line to face arrest in the SNP finance probe. SNP treasurer Colin Beattie was released without charge last night – pending further investigation – after Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell faced the same fate. Senior SNP figures are now preparing for Sturgeon’s “inevitable” arrest, according to reports in The Times. Another SNP political said “They’ve interviewed witnesses and now they are on to suspects. It was the small fry and now it’s the big people”. Sturgeon is the only senior SNP figure named on their accounts yet to be arrested.

Sturgeon has not yet spoken to police, though it has been reported that she intends to fully co-operate with any investigation. She isn’t in the Scottish Parliament this week – apparently to avoid overshadowing Humza Yousaf.  As if the only SNP story anybody is talking about is Yousaf’s agenda…

A Sturgeon arrest could raise yet further questions of the legitimacy of continuity candidate Humza Yousaf’s election. Reports suggest that Peter Murrell had expedited the contest, which followed Sturgeon’s already unexpected resignation. The timing is suspect to say the least. In other news, Kate Forbes has just given an interview to the BBC.

First Minister Humza Yousaf has spoken publicly for the first time since his party’s Treasurer Colin Beattie was arrested in connection with the SNP finance investigation. Yousaf is about to give a speech outlining his “priorities” for the Scottish government going forward, which he admits have been, erm, undermined somewhat by yet another arrest…

“It’s clearly a very serious matter indeed, I’ve said already people are innocent until proven guilty… Of course I’m surprised that one of my colleagues has been arrested, but it’s a very serious matter indeed… it’s certainly is not helpful, of course… I’m not going to take away from the fact that the timing of this is far from ideal.” 

Yousaf stressed he does not believe the SNP is a “criminal operation“. This is where we are now. Colin Beattie, like Peter Murrell, still hasn’t been suspended from the party…

Footage: Connor Gillies

The SNP’s new era of “transparency” and “respect” is off to a roaring start under Humza Yousaf, who today claimed he had no prior knowledge that the party he now leads hasn’t had an auditor for the past six months. The same Humza Yousaf who sat practically an elbow’s length away from Nicola Sturgeon at the cabinet table while this was going on.

Following this morning’s news that Johnston Carmichael mysteriously quit as the SNP’s auditors “round about October“, Yousaf said:

“They resigned last year. I think it was in and and about October last year. But the fact that we don’t have auditors in place is one of the major priorities. You can imagine when I found that out, being the party leader, the party is quickly looking to secure another auditor […] When I learned about the fact that we don’t have an auditor in place, of course I’ve instructed the party to get on with finding another auditor, so we are working very hard to do that […] It’s certainly problematic. I won’t deny that at all.”

He added the situation was “extraordinary“, which is hard to disagree with. Extraordinary as it may be, Peter Murrell is nonetheless still a party member. Despite spending almost 12 hours in police custody last week…