POLICE Scotland brought a battering ram to the house of a former Scotland in Union official during a raid over investigation over data stolen from the pro-union, anti-SNP campaign group.
Six police officers armed with an "enforcer" battering ram, and a search warrant told David Clews to open up or face having his door smashed down, according to the former Scotland in Union man. The police then took Clews's computer, his phone and his wife's phone.
"I have nothing to say about the investigation, but to have six police officers come to your door with a battering ram ... it was a traumatic experience for my wife and my eight month old," he told The National.
Scotland in Union were left reeling earlier this year after an anonymous email account sent the “Scotland in Union data dump” to pro-independence media including The National, Wings Over Scotland and Bella Caledonia.
The spreadsheet contained the size of donations, along with names, addresses, phone numbers and details of family relationships.
The group are being probed by the Electoral Commission over a possible failure to declare donations.
According to one spreadsheet which details donations made to the group over the past few years there are around 14 which passed the Electoral Commission’s threshold of £7500. Of these, 12 were made in the run-up to the last two General Elections and the last Holyrood election, during what’s known as the regulated period, when donations are supposed to be declared to the watchdog.
The National is restricted in what it can say about the names on the list. Strict data protection laws could lead to criminal charges.
Police Scotland have confirmed that the warrant was served as part of an ongoing investigation, but gave no further comment.
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