SSP finances

The SSP doesn't quite know how to handle money. First, Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne have to take out personal loans to keep the party afloat, then they submit their accounts late (how long does it take to tell the Electoral Commission 'We have no money'?), and now this:

There is a £16,966 hole in their accounts. The 2004 accounts have been signed off five months late by their accountants (Trots with accountants! What is the world coming to?), who could not conduct a full audit as the party didn't have all the paperwork necessary. The money was, it seems, paid to a former party official who went into hiding after a rift with his ex-colleagues. Problem is, there's no paperwork. No invoices, no receipts.

The upshot of this is that the Electoral Commission are going to be monitoring the SSP's finances for a year to keep an eye on them.