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The SNP has been accused of hiding the fact its accounting firm resigned six months ago after its new leader revealed it did so and implied he was not previously aware.

Humza Yousaf said Johnston Carmichael stopped doing the SNP’s accounting “round about October” of last year but he could not “comment on what was done prior to me becoming a leader of the SNP”.

The SNP leader and Scotland’s first minister did not say why they had quit then.

Mr Yousaf, who was in Nicola Sturgeon’s cabinet, agreed it was “extraordinary” that the party had failed to appoint a new set of auditors since they had resigned.

His revelation came after it emerged last week Johnston Carmichael was no longer handling the SNP’s accounts.

Days before, former party chief executive and Ms Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell was arrested and questioned by police investigating the party’s finances.

Mr Murrell, who had been in the role for 25 years, quit during the contest to find Ms Sturgeon’s successor after she unexpectedly announced her resignation.

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Last week he was questioned by Police Scotland as part of its investigation into where £600,000 of party donations earmarked for independence campaigning has gone.

Mr Murrell was released without charge “pending further investigation”, police said.

Opposition parties said Mr Yousaf’s revelation about the auditors resigning raised even further questions about who knew what about their finances.

MSP Jackson Carlaw, Scottish Conservative leader from 2019 to 2020, said: “Why did they hide it from the membership and the public? All very grubby and murky from the Nats. No wonder auditors resigned,” he tweeted.

Mr Yousaf, who was only elected leader just over two weeks ago, said one of the party’s “major priorities” is appointing new auditors “quickly”.

But he said the SNP hopes to still have its accounts prepared in time to be submitted to watchdogs at the Electoral Commission in July, although that will be “problematic”, he admitted.

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Sturgeon: Last few days ‘difficult’

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said it was “yet another massive understatement” from Mr Yousaf.

“The SNP have been without auditors for more than six months while the police investigate serious allegations about £600,000 of funds,” he said.

“The questions for Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf to answer are growing.”

Scottish Labour’s deputy leader Jackie Baillie said “the plot continues to thicken” and the fact the SNP “did not come clean about this for months stinks to high heavens”.

She added it was “deeply worrying” if they have not yet been able to replace their auditors and it is “time for the secrecy to end”.

SNP will not pay Peter Murrell’s legal fees

The first minister refused to agree to suspend Mr Murrell from the party but said it will not be paying his legal fees.

“I operate on the premise that people are innocent until proven guilty,” he told ITV Border.

“He’s obviously been questioned, as we know, under caution.

“He’s no longer the chief executive of the party – I’ll be castigated, I’m sure, if we pay his legal fees and castigated if we don’t pay his legal fees.

“So, we’ve taken the decision as a party not to pay those legal fees given he’s no longer the chief executive of the party I think that’s pretty reasonable.”

Read more: Sturgeon will ‘fully cooperate’ with police inquiry after husband arrested

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Police outside Nicola Sturgeon’s house

Mr Yousaf insisted the SNP remains in a “position of strength” and has the opportunity to rebuild under his leadership.

He said he has asked the SNP’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) to carry out a review into governance and transparency, with a motion to be presented at a meeting on Saturday.

He also said he would “very imminently” confirm if he will launch legal action against the UK government after it blocked a bill backed by MSPs that would have made it easier and quicker to change gender.

During his leadership campaign he made it clear the block was an “undemocratic veto over legislation that was passed by a majority of the Scottish Parliament”.

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs - in worst day for indexes since COVID

Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.

While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.

As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years

All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.

The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.

Read more: What’s a bear market?

Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.

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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.

The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.

And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.

Pic: Reuters
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US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters

Trump holds trade deal talks – reports

It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.

The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.

Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.

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Do Trump’s tariffs add up?

Read more:
Markets gave Trump a clear no-confidence vote
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow

China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.

Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.

Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.

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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump

He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’

“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they're also battling with another problem

Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.

The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.

The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.

Tariffs latest: FTSE 100 suffers biggest daily drop since COVID

Financial investors had been gradually re-calibrating their expectations of Donald Trump over the past few months.

Hopes that his actions may not match his rhetoric were dashed on Wednesday as he imposed sweeping tariffs on the US’ trading partners, ratcheting up protectionism to a level not seen in more than a century.

Markets were always going to respond to that but they are also battling with another problem: the lack of certainty when it comes to Trump.

More on Donald Trump

He is a capricious figure and we can only guess his next move. Will he row back? How far is he willing to negotiate and offer concessions?

Read more:
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow
Trade war sparks ‘$2.2trn’ global market sell-off

These are massive unknowns, which are piled on to uncertainty about how countries will respond.

China has already retaliated and Europe has indicated it will go further.

That will compound the problems for the global economy and undoubtedly send shivers through the markets.

Much is yet to be determined, but if there’s one thing markets hate, it’s uncertainty.

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.

His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.

The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.

The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.

Demonstrators who stayed overnight near the constitutional court wait for the start of a rally calling for the president to step down. Pic: AP
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Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP

Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.

The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.

Read more from Sky News:
Highs and lows of Five-Year Keir
MP tells Sky News she was targeted online by Tate brothers

More on South Korea

The Constitutional Court is under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement of the impeachment trial. Pic: AP
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The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP

After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.

He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.

His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.

The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.

South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.

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