in the bank at the end of 2019. and injune 2021, mr muddle loaned the party around £107,000 of his own money. this house in dalkeith is the last building which humza yousaf wanted to be the focus of attention today. he has inherited a party in crisis, but he s also taken over a government facing immense challenges. and this afternoon, he set out how he intended to meet them. this government s work will be defined by three distinct and interdependent missions. those missions center on the principles of equality, opportunity and community, require us to tackle poverty, to build a fair, green and indeed a growing economy, and to improve our public services. they will be central to our efforts over the next three years to improve the lives of the people of scotland. the first questions were about something else. the first minister makes this statement today as scandal continues to engulf his party.
and that was james cook reporting. so let s take a quick look at some of the background to this probe into snp finances. from 2017 to 2020, the snp raised nearly £670,000 to campaign specifically for independence. at the end of 2019, questions arose when it emerged the party had less than £100,000 in the bank. injune 2021, the former chief executive of the party peter murrell loaned it more than £100,000 of his own money. let s remember that he s married to the former first minister nicola sturgeon. the following month, police scotland launched a formal investigation into the snp s finances after receiving complaints about how donations to the party were used. last month, mr murrell resigned from the snp after taking responsibility for misleading the public about its plummeting membership figures. and now the party treasurer colin beattie has been arrested by police.
so what led up to their inquiry? from 2017 until 2020, the snp raised nearly £667,000 to campaign for independence. questions arose when it emerged the party had just under £97,000 in the bank at the end of 2019. and injune 2021, mr murrell loaned the party around £107,000 of his own money. this house in dalkeith is the last building which humza yousaf wanted to be the focus of attention today. he has inherited a party in crisis, but he has also taken over a government facing immense challenges. and this afternoon, he set out how he intended to meet them. this government s work will be defined by three distinct and interdependent missions. those missions centre on the principles of equality, opportunity and community. they require us to tackle poverty, to build a fairer, green and indeed a growing economy and to improve our public services.
injune 2021 the former chief executive of the party, peter murrell, loaned the party more than £100,000 of his own money. the following month police scotland opened a formal investigation into the snp s finances after receiving complaints about how donations to the party were used. last month mr murrell resigned from the party after taking responsibility for misleading the public about its plummeting membership figures mr murrell. two weeks ago peter murrell was arrested by police, who searched his suburban glasgow home and garden. there was also police activity at the party s headquarters in edinburgh, with officers removing boxes of material as part of their investigation. peter murrell, who is the husband of nicola sturgeon, was later released without charge pending further inquiries. mr yousaf s first major
to the position and his successor resigned a year later, saying he did not have access to the accounts. earlier today, not have access to the accounts. earliertoday, mr not have access to the accounts. earlier today, mr beattie was taken into custody. police scotland said the arrest was made in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the snp. 0pposition msps are today calling for beauty s suspension. opposition msps are today calling for beauty s suspension. opposition msps are today calling for beauty s suspension. there are very serious for beauty s suspension. there are very serious questions for beauty s suspension. there are very serious questions to - for beauty s suspension. there are very serious questions to answer, | very serious questions to answer, which is why humza should suspend colin beattie for the duration of this investigation, and mr beattie should also step aside from the public audit committee, and that is the only way that