BBC LEADERS' DEBATE - FIGHTING FUND REACHES £50,000 TARGET

BBC LEADERS' DEBATE - FIGHTING FUND REACHES £50,000 TARGET

PAPERS TO BE LODGED AT COURT OF SESSION

The SNP this afternoon reached its target of raising £50,000 in order to
fund the court action regarding the BBC election leaders' debate scheduled
for this Thursday evening.

The party will now lodge the necessary papers instigating the action at
the Court of Session tomorrow morning.

Welcoming the successful fundraising appeal, SNP Depute Leader and Deputy
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, said:

"This has been an absolutely fantastic response to our appeal, and on
behalf of the party I want to thank all of those who have contributed to
the fighting fund, however large or small their donation.

"The fact that we have been able to raise this money in a day and a half
simply underlines the strength of feeling people across Scotland have on
this issue and the BBC's refusal - despite its clear duties as a national
broadcaster - to properly and fairly reflect the political make-up of this
country.

"Donations have come in from ordinary Scots who simply share our anger at
the way Scotland has been treated by the BBC.

"We will now take our case to the Court of Session where we will argue
that basic fairness and democracy should prevail."

SNP election campaign coordinator Stewart Hosie added:

"This is a truly remarkable achievement in around 31 hours. We have
embraced the social media and reached the £50,000 target by securing small
donations online from over 1,600 donors.

"This was achieved through a targeted new media insurgency designed to
engage, enthuse and mobilise both members and supporters across the web.

"This campaign has demonstrated the agility of the SNP to rapidly adapt
and respond to events in this election campaign, by making effective use
of new media technologies to get our messages directly to people. This is
arguably the most successful online political fundraising campaign in UK
political history."