WHAT MESS?

Sturgeon shrugs off SNP's membership numbers scandal as growing pains' and denies party lied to journalists

- BY ANDREW QUINN

NICOLA Sturgeon has hit back at claims by party president Mike Russell that the SNP is in a "mess".

The outgoing First Minister has also denied the party lied to journalists about the party's plummeting membership.

Sturgeon's husband and party chief executive Peter Murrell resigned from his role on Saturday amid reports that he was facing a vote of no confidence from party members.

SNP head of media Murray Foote stood down a day earlier.

The party was finally forced to admit last week that it had lost 30,000 members over the last two years despite rubbishing earlier reports of a slump. Acting CEO and party president Mike Russell said the party was in a "tremendous mess" and that he had "no idea" why journalists had been misled over the membership numbers.

But Sturgeon denied these claims on ITV's Loose Women yesterday saying: "Mike was referring to some of the issues around the leadership election. The SNP's not in a mess.

It's going through... some growing pains. They are necessary but they're difficult." Figures released by the party last week showed the party's membership had dropped from 103,884 in 2021 to 72,186 in February this year.

Our sister paper the Sunday Mail had been told weeks earlier that there was no membership slump, with SNP spin doctor Foote calling the Sunday Mail's story "drivel".

It now appears Foote had been given the wrong figures by SNP HQ to pass on to the press.

Sturgeon denied the SNP had intentionally misled the public and journalists over how many people had left the party.

She said: "My husband has been chief executive of the SNP for longer than I have been leader. He was going to step down... and has decided to take responsibility for that situation, I think rightly.