Murrell's 'foot was on the pipe' over Yes cash

By MICHAEL BLACKLEY, SCOTTISH DAILY MAIL POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 20:16, 12 July 2026 | Updated: 20:16, 12 July 2026 A former director of the pro-independence campaign group set up by the SNP has claimed Peter Murrell’s ‘foot was on the pipe’ and all the cash was not flowing to it. Ian Dommett, who was Yes Scotland’s marketing director until January 2014, says revenue from some campaign merchandise was going to the SNP and money from donations ‘wasn’t trickling down’. He also said that Murrell, the former SNP chief executive jailed last month for five years for embezzling £400,000 from the party, was also calling the shots at Yes Scotland despite it being set up as a separate legal entity. It comes after a complaint to Police Scotland about allegations £1.5million is ‘missing’ from the past accounts of the organisation, which was set up to be a cross-party campaign group ahead of the 2014 referendum. Mr Dommett told the Sunday Mail: ‘Nothing happened in Yes Scotland without either the direct instruction or agreement of the SNP. It was unbelievably tightly controlled, the hand was around the neck of Yes Scotland from the beginning.’ Yes supporters donated money to the campaign group ahead of the 2014 referendum Ian Dommett with fellow campaigner Gail Lythgoe, pictured ahead of the vote Peter Murrell was jailed for five years last month for embezzlement He said Murrell ‘was not willing for us to do anything that wasn’t under his control’.  And he claimed revenue from Yes Scotland merchandise provided to an SNP conference stall in 2012 went to the party. On the influential role played by Murrell, Mr Dommett said: ‘You could just tell his foot was on the pipe.’ Asked about the £2.4million income recorded in the 2013 accounts, Mr Dommett said: ‘The money wasn’t trickling down, that was the problem. ‘There was a blurring of responsibilities and accounts between Yes Scotland and the SNP.’ Scottish Tory deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: ‘These allegations paint a troubling picture of how the Yes campaign was run.  'The SNP insisted Yes Scotland was a separate organisation, but this account suggests something very different. 'John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon were at the heart of the SNP leadership throughout this period. They owe the public answers, not more stonewalling.’ Earlier this month, David Henry, who once stood to be the SNP’s national secretary, made a formal complaint to police over claims £1.5million went missing from Yes Scotland’s accounts. He is due to give a statement to police which will also raise questions about whether SNP staff members acted as ‘shadow directors’ of Yes Scotland. An SNP spokesman said: ‘Yes Scotland Ltd is and was an entirely separate entity.’ A spokes- man for the company, which is still active and files annual accounts, said: ‘All of the income received by Yes Scotland is fully accounted for and it is grossly defamatory to say otherwise. ‘Mr Murrell never had access to Yes Scotland’s accounts. Mr Dommett was never involved in the financial side of the organisation. 'No donations to Yes Scotland were held separately, nor were the donations or accounts ever controlled by the SNP.’