John Swinney has been accused of ‘running scared’ of a parliamentary probe into the Peter Murrell scandal after his party refused to support it.

The SNP rejected calls for a Holyrood committee to launch an inquiry into the fallout from the case, which saw the former SNP chief executive jailed for five years and three months for embezzling £400,000 from his party.

Its opposition to a probe comes despite Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee (SAC) asking Holyrood committees to consider launching an inquiry and indicating it was prepared for ‘joint working’ on the issue.

It is understood that the Labour-led select committee in the UK Parliament has now written to three committees in the Scottish Parliament to ask them to consider an inquiry.

Among them is the standards, procedures and public appointments committee where the SNP has a minority of two MSPs, with one each from Labour, the Conservatives, and Reform UK.

SNP and Green MSPs previously united to defeat calls for a Scottish Parliament inquiry into the scandal.

Asked if the SNP would be prepared to consider a committee probe, a spokesman for the party said: ‘The Parliament has already voted on this.’

Scottish Conservative chief whip Tim Eagle said: ‘John Swinney is terrified of an investigation into the Peter Murrell scandal and he’s using every trick in the book to block one.

‘He and Nicola Sturgeon enabled Murrell’s crime spree by ignoring and silencing whistleblowers who flagged up problems with the SNP’s finances.

‘The SAC has bent over backwards to cooperate with the Scottish Parliament and encourage them to investigate this scandal, but it has been rebuffed at every turn.

‘I will be urging the Labour and Reform members of the standards committee to back me in calling for us to investigate the Murrell affair, but it appears the SNP will use every parliamentary means possible to thwart us, because Swinney is running scared.

'I therefore urge the SAC to press ahead with an inquiry of its own, as that appears to be the only way that the many questions this sordid affair has thrown up will be answered.’

It is understood that Labour MP Patricia Ferguson, chairman of the Scottish Affairs Committee, has written to the conveners of the standards, public audit and finance committees to ask them to consider investigating and to offer joint working on the issue.

Any investigation would look at a range of issues, including whether any public money was involved.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: ‘John Swinney and the SNP have huge questions to answer about the Peter Murrell affair and the implications for public services and public funds.

‘If John Swinney has nothing to hide, he should do the right thing and set up a dedicated parliamentary inquiry into this scandal.

‘If the SNP continues to try and block scrutiny, all options should be on the table to get the answers Scotland deserves.’

Reform UK has not yet said whether it will support an inquiry by a Scottish Parliament committee.

It is unlikely that the Scottish Affairs Committee will get a response from the committees until after Holyrood’s long summer recess.

But committees will still be permitted to launch work in this area if they agree to do so.

A Scottish Parliament spokesman said: ‘With the Scottish Parliament now in recess, none of the committees will be in a position to consider the matter substantively until September.

‘However, it is a matter for each committee to decide its work programme based on its remit.’