The Mystery of the Lost Auditors becomes ever more exciting by the day. As scrutiny intensifies so does the shirking of responsibility, for it has now been revealed that the House of Commons authorities were not informed about Johnston Carmichael cutting ties with the SNP’s accounts until 13 February – a full five months after the fact. That was also incidentally three days after Stephen Flynn was informed, a mere two months after replacing Ian Blackford as Westminster leader.
And last night, it was Blackford’s moment to return to the spotlight when asked if it was his responsibility to have let parliamentary finance staff know about his party’s lack of auditors. Going on to berate the poor journalist who had dared enquire, an enraged Blackford fumed:
I think the question is awful and let’s leave it at that. I am not responsible for the appointment of the auditor and I shouldn’t even need to explain that to you.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate, free for a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first month free.
UNLOCK ACCESS Try a month freeAlready a subscriber? Log in