Former SNP treasurer Douglas Chapman 'did not know about motorhome'

A source close to Douglas Chapman – who was treasurer for six months – has told The Times he was kept in the dark about the expense while he was in post.

The campervan – which it is thought was bought for use as an election battle bus – was seized by police probing the party’s finances outside the home of Peter Murrell’s mother.

Ex-treasurer Colin Beattie, who held the post both before and after Chapman, has also said he only found out about the vehicle through the party’s 2021 accounts.

It is still not certain when the campervan was purchased.

“Douglas did not know about [the campervan] when he was treasurer,” a source close to Chapman said. It is not clear when or how he did find out about the purchase.

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Graham Downie, the Labour candidate for Dunfermline and West Fife, has written to Chapman asking what he knew and when about the purchase.

Chapman quit the post in May 2021 claiming he was unable to access key information.

The Daily Record reported last month the campervan had been earmarked for use during the Holyrood election in 2021 as a way of dealing with Covid restrictions. It was never used as restrictions were lifted in time.

If this is true, it is possible it was bought while Chapman was in post. Neighbours of Murrell’s mother in Dunfermline, the city that Chapman represents as an MP, have told The Times the vehicle was delivered to her home in January 2021.

Murrell was arrested and questioned by police last month and later released without charge pending further investigation.

Beattie was treasurer for 15 years on either side of Chapman’s short stint but quit last month after he was arrested by police before being released without charge. Stuart McDonald is now in the post.

After his arrest, Beattie told reporters he was unaware of the campervan being bought, before the SNP issued a statement in his name saying it was “important to clarify that I was unaware of the transaction at the time of purchase. I became aware of the transaction via the 2021 annual accounts".

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An SNP spokesperson said: “These issues are subject to a live police investigation. The SNP have been cooperating fully with this investigation and will continue to do so however it is not appropriate to publicly address these issues while that investigation is ongoing.”