Chamber and committees

I begin by congratulating Douglas Lumsden on his election as MP for Aberdeen South, and I welcome our new MSP colleague, James Adams, to Holyrood.

Former members of the Scottish National Party’s audit and finance committee are also here today. At the height of Peter Murrell’s crime spree, Allison Graham and Cynthia Guthrie raised concerns. Nicola Sturgeon ordered them to be quiet and John Swinney assured them that there was no problem. The new Minister for Victims and Community Safety tried to bully those whistleblowers into silence. They back an inquiry because their testimony proves beyond any doubt that John Swinney and others enabled Peter Murrell’s crimes. Will he apologise to them for his central role in the SNP scandal?

Will Kate Campbell give way?

As expected, there is no apology to the whistleblowers. The truth is that Peter Murrell should never have been free to commit those crimes. Members of the SNP’s finance and audit committee blew the whistle, but they were bullied into quitting after being refused access to basic information. Twice, John Swinney went on the BBC to say that his party’s finances were completely sound. He was at the heart of the cover-up then and now and that is why he is terrified of an inquiry: John Swinney, the king of the SNP cover-up, is desperate to cover his own back. Is that not the simple truth?

A new report has revealed massive oil and gas reserves off Shetland—an estimated 4.7 billion barrels’ worth of oil—which is great news. However, our imports are at their highest levels since the 1970s and much of the gas that we use is fracked in the United States, generating four times as much carbon dioxide. The new fields could provide cleaner domestic energy for decades and support thousands of jobs. The University of Aberdeen researchers warn that their paper might serve as an obituary for the industry unless we get drilling. Does John Swinney agree that we should get drilling, or will he oversee the death of Scotland’s oil and gas industry?

The First Minister did not answer the question but talked about the EPL, which his party was the first to call for.

My colleague Douglas Lumsden is Aberdeen’s oil and gas champion, and he has persistently demanded to know when the Scottish National Party Government will publish its delayed energy strategy. We have now discovered that SNP ministers have done precisely nothing about it during the first five months of this year—absolutely nothing.

For years, the sleekit SNP has behaved in the most dishonest and despicable way. John Swinney pretends to support oil and gas while still backing the anti-drilling policy of Nicola Sturgeon and the Green Party. One thousand jobs are being lost every single month. When will John Swinney start telling workers the truth?

Before I ask my question, I want to say, come on, Scotland—let us at least get into the next round and out of the group stages.

I also on behalf of my party whole-heartedly condemn the ugly scenes that we saw in the streets of my home city of Glasgow.

John Swinney has blocked a parliamentary inquiry into the Scottish National Party crime scandal. He does not want to know whether Peter Murrell stole taxpayers’ money, the terms of his plea deal or why Nicola Sturgeon was not prosecuted.

A lady called Margaret Killah joined the SNP in the 1950s and donated money to the party for years. When she died, aged 84, she left the SNP £20,000. Peter Murrell told Margaret’s solicitor to deal only with him, not the party treasurer. Margaret’s executor told me this morning that she would have backed an inquiry in Parliament. She said:

“Margaret truly believed in the SNP and would have been so upset and so angry. We will never know if Peter Murrell stole her money.”

Why is John Swinney so scared of doing the right thing?

Margaret Killah lived in Aberdeen South, where people will choose a new MP next week. Many of the residents who I have been speaking with are dismayed by the SNP’s desperate Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon cover-up, but they are even more angry at the SNP’s duplicity over oil and gas. Thousands of jobs are being lost because of Ed Miliband’s idiotic opposition to new drilling. The SNP pretends to back oil and gas, but it still has a presumption against new drilling in the North Sea, so will John Swinney get off the fence and back our candidate Douglas Lumsden’s clear call to get Britain drilling again?

[Made a request to intervene.]

Will the member give way?

I begin by praising Police Scotland and the National Crime Agency, which delivered justice in the face of inappropriate political meddling.

I remember when the Scottish National Party chief executive attacked Police Scotland. Peter Murrell’s successor described its inquiry as a “wild goose chase” and a “grotesque circus”, even offering a £5 bet that no charges would be brought. Well, charges were brought and Peter Murrell admitted his guilt and is behind bars, awaiting sentencing. However, this debate is not about one high-profile criminal; it is about public trust in Scottish politics, which has been dominated by one party for decades.

As a journalist, I investigated organised crime—organisations that are ruthless towards their rivals and even more ruthless with their own people when they step out of line. There is secrecy, dishonesty, intimidation, intolerance and power in the hands of one small group—toe the line or else. There are clear parallels with the culture of the SNP.