THE SNP has emailed all of its donors in a bid to “quash rumours” that money supposedly ring-fenced for indyref2 has already been spent.
It comes after the Electoral Commission published the SNP’s 2019 accounts late last night.
The paperwork reveals that the party has just under £97,000 in the bank, despite two major fundraising drives for an indyref2 fighting fund.
However, the SNP treasurer, insists that there is £593,501 in the "Referendum Appeal Fund" which is ready to be deployed "instantaneously".
The pro-independence Wings Over Scotland blog has long accused the party of having spent the money “on something else.”
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This morning, in an unprecedented intervention, the SNP’s treasurer, Colin Beattie wrote to all donors.
He said: “I felt it was important for me to get in touch today to quash rumours spreading on social media about one of our fundraising appeals.”
Beattie insisted the funds “remain earmarked for the referendum and are ready to be fully deployed at a moment's notice”.
He added: “Since becoming national treasurer, I’ve worked hard to ensure ongoing prudence and financial control, striving to use your donations in the most effective and efficient ways possible.
“The current strength of our financial position, for example, enabled us last year to win a landslide in the General Election, secure our best European election result ever, and contest a parliamentary by-election.
“All three of these events were unforeseen, but thanks to donors like you and our inherent financial strength we were able to allocate £1.4 million at short notice to contest these elections.”
He said the pary had moved “from being heavily in debt” to “operating in the black and with zero commercial borrowing.”
“And that’s why I simply will not have this hard-won progress trashed,” he added.
“Like all other political parties, the SNP does not separate out restricted funds in annual accounts. Any such donations are woven through the overall income figures each year.
“The Referendum Appeal Fund has a current balance of £593,501 and we can fully deploy those funds instantaneously - guaranteeing maximum impact when vital funds are needed most.
“I’ll leave our opponents to the social media conspiracies, but I wanted you to get the facts direct from me.”
Stu Campbell, the blogger behind Wings Over Scotland said Beattie's response was "deeply unconvincing."
He said: "All the supposedly ringfenced donations came from two appeal websites, so why would the money be scattered randomly through the accounts?
"If the SNP claims to know to the last pound how much this 'Referendum Appeal Fund' is, why not simply identify it as such in the accounts?
"But in fact one of the two, the yes.scot website, has now been changed to a general SNP funding appeal - when people donate through the yes.scot site now, is that money going to the Referendum Appeal Fund or straight into general SNP coffers?
"If it's the latter, on what date did the money start being diverted? And if there's nearly £600,000 available to be spent 'at a moment's notice', why are the SNP's total net current assets less than half that?"
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