SNP leadership contender Ash Regan vows to publish party's financial data if elected

SNP leadership contender Ash Regan has said she will publish the party’s financial data if elected as leader.

The pledge comes as the SNP is under investigation by police over £600,000 that was crowd funded from members to fight an independence campaign.

Regan specifically said on Tuesday she would publish “actual ring-fencing of funds for key electoral tests” in a push for transparency if she is chosen as leader by party members.

Membership figures, the former community safety minister said, would also be published.

“It’s been clear from talking to members that there is work to do, I’ve gathered up a lot of very candid sentiment that focuses on key themes of transparency, accountability, modernity and accessibility,” she said.

“Following this critical feedback I’ve set up the SNP action plan.

“As I get more feedback and as actions progress, we will revert to members and update the action plan as required.”

Throughout her campaign, Regan’s positions have been at odds with that of the SNP leadership, including her calls for the party’s long-serving chief executive – and Nicola Sturgeon’s husband – Peter Murrell to stand aside, describing his involvement in picking his wife’s successor a “conflict of interest”.