Joanna Cherry second big name to quit SNP ruling body

SNP MP Joanna Cherry has resigned from the National Executive Committee of the party, she has announced.

The Edinburgh South West MP explained her decision in a statement on Twitter, blaming issues over "transparency and scrutiny'' in the party.

Her decision comes after Douglas Chapman resigned as the SNP national treasurer on Saturday.

In the tweet, Ms Cherry said: "I've resigned from the NEC of @theSNP.

"A number of factors have prevented me from fulfilling the mandate party members gave me to improve transparency & scrutiny & to uphold the party's constitution. I won't be making any further comment at this stage.''

Mr Chapman, MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, said he was not given enough information to do the job.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney was forced to deny that Police Scotland was investigating "£600,000 of SNP funds that was raised by activists and campaigners and perhaps diverted elsewhere?'', telling the BBC: "Not to my knowledge, no.''

He told BBC Scotland's The Sunday Show: "I don't understand quite what's prompted this.

"The National Executive Committee has responsibility for scrutinising the party's finances... and in addition to that, the accounts of the party are independently audited by external auditors and are submitted to the Electoral Commission for scrutiny.

"So there's a huge amount of scrutiny of party finances that goes on.''

Mr Chapman took over the role last year, while Ms Cherry only recently returned to politics after taking a break for health reasons.

It remains unclear what led to Mr Chapman's decision, but SNP business convener and fellow MP Kirsten Oswald said she fundamentally disagrees'' with Mr Chapman's assessment.

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