‘Didnae know’? Why SNP leaders’ defence over Peter Murrell doesn’t stack up |
Earlier today, the oil giant BP removed its chairperson, Albert Manifold. The company’s board said it had “serious concerns” about “important governance standards, oversight and conduct”. Mr Manifold’s departure took effect immediately, meaning he was gone later in the day.
They don’t mess about, these FTSE companies, when they believe something’s not quite right at the top of the tree. At this stage, no one knows how long these BP board members had harboured their “serious concerns”. We can be sure of this, though: it won’t have been nearly as long as those expressed by numerous SNP stakeholders and key officials over their party’s governance standards, oversight and conduct.
In the last 24 hours, a succession of SNP loyalists have dutifully followed the lead of John Swinney in painting themselves as victims in Peter Murrell’s spectacular £400,000 fraud. Underpinning their specious explanations has been a common refrain. “We didnae know.”
This has been repeated by the First Minister and by one of his predecessors, Mr Murrell’s estranged wife, Nicola Sturgeon. Individuals such as the party’s former finance chief, Colin Beattie, have effectively chosen to rest on the sentiments of their boss.
In a lengthy statement, following Mr Murrell’s guilty plea, Ms Sturgeon said she had “no suspicion” that her husband of 15 years had been engaged in grand theft with a bit of automobile.
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How could none of them have, at the very least,........