THE Scottish Conservatives have denied any involvement with a donation made to the DUP by an East Renfrewshire party member that may have breached electoral law.

Richard Cook, a former Tory vice-chair and electoral candidate, is the only name linked with the Constitutional Research Council (CRC), which was behind a £435,000 donation to

Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party that is at the heart of a “dark money” scandal.

The donation – the largest ever received by the DUP – was used to bankroll pro-Leave campaigning in the final weeks before the EU referendum.

Around half of the money was used by the DUP to pay for an advert in the Metro, booked by Clarkston man Mr Cook.

The free newspaper isn’t available in Northern Ireland.

Money was also spent on online campaigning with Canadian data analytics firm Aggregate IQ, used by the official Vote Leave campaign.

However, due to secrecy rules around donations in Northern Ireland, it is not known who gave CRC the money – and Mr Cook has refused to reveal the source.

The Electoral Commission fined CRC for failing to report the DUP donation but has declined to launch a full investigation into the source of the cash.

After the Scottish Conservatives’ interim leader, Eastwood MSP Jackson Carlaw, admitted Mr Cook was still a member of his constituency party, the SNP issued a call for full transparency.

A spokesman for the SNP said: “This trail of dark money leads directly to the top of the Tory party in Scotland. They should come clean about their personal dealings with Richard Cook and open an investigation into the murky political donations he is behind.

“Mr Cook was far more than just a card-carrying Tory member in the East Renfrewshire branch – he was a leading figure in the party for years, campaigning alongside Ruth Davidson, David Cameron and Jackson Carlaw.”

However, a spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said: “There is no Conservative Party involvement whatsoever in respect of this donation. This was a donation from the DUP to the Leave campaign in the 2016 referendum. All and any enquiries can only be directed to and answered by either them or Mr Cook himself.

“Jackson Carlaw has previously said that he personally believes the source of the money should be revealed.”

During an interview with the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland this month, Mr Carlaw was asked if he had contacted Mr Cook to “try to clear up these matters.”

He said: “Mr Cook was not acting on behalf of the Conservative party.”

Mr Carlaw added he was “perfectly content to support those who believe that he should say who the people were who were behind that money, but those are issues for him and for the DUP.”

The Eastwood MSP also stressed that Mr Cook was not an active member of the Tories or “an influencer of anything that’s currently happening within Scottish politics and the Scottish Conservative Party.”

Mr Carlaw said: “He lives in my constituency. I’ve not now seen him for several years.”