Murray Foote had described press reports about the numbers last month as "inaccurate" and "drivel".

The SNP confirmed yesterday that membership had fallen to 72,186 from the 104,000 it had two years ago.

Mr Foote said he issued agreed party responses to the media which "created a serious impediment" to his role.

SNP leadership candidates Ash Regan and Kate Forbes this week demanded to know how many members were eligible to vote in a row over the integrity of the contest.

They issued a joint letter to Peter Murrell - the SNP's chief executive and husband of Nicola Sturgeon.

The party initially refused to reveal the numbers, then confirmed there was a drop of 32,000 since December 2021.

Last month the Sunday Mail - where Mr Foote was formerly editor in chief - reported the SNP had lost 30,000 members, which the party said was "not just wrong, it's wrong by about 30,000".

Mr Foote tweeted: "Acting in good faith and as a courtesy to colleagues at party HQ, I issued agreed party responses to media inquiries regarding membership.

"It has subsequently become apparent there are serious issues with these responses.

"Consequently, I concluded this created a serous impediment to my role and I resigned my position with the SNP group at Holyrood."

'Acted in good faith'

The SNP said Mr Foote had been an outstanding head of press for the Holyrood group, adding: "He has acted entirely in good faith throughout."

In a statement it said: "The party was asked a specific question about loss of members as a direct result of the GRR [gender recognition reform] Bill and Indyref2. The answer given was intended to make clear that these two reasons had not been the cause of significant numbers of members leaving.

"The membership figure is normally produced annually and is not produced in response to individual media queries, including in this instance.

"In retrospect, however, we should not have relied on an understanding of people's reasons for leaving as the basis of the information given to Murray and, thereafter, the media.

"A new, modernised membership system is currently being developed for the party."

Mr Foote became editor of the Daily Record and Sunday Mail newspapers in 2014.

He was responsible for "The Vow" front page which was seen as being highly influential in the outcome of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.

It was written by the Better Together campaign in which they promised more powers for Holyrood.

In an article written for the first anniversary of the vote, Mr Foote wrote that he and colleagues did not believe Alex Salmond was "offering true independence" at the time.

He was appointed the SNP's media chief in 2019.

Scottish Conservative MSP Russell Findlay, a former journalist, defended Mr Foote - saying he had been given false information.

"He didn't lie. The SNP lied," Mr Findlay said. "The problem is not a press officer. The problem is the rotten SNP leadership who deliberately lied to the press and public.

"We wish our best to Mr Foote, who was clearly told false information and is the fall guy for the SNP hierarchy."

Alex Salmond, former first minister and leader of the Alba party, also accused the SNP of "blatant lies".

Speaking to BBC Scotland's Drivetime programme - prior to Mr Foote stepping down - Mr Salmond said the SNP's loss of members was "catastrophic", but "more important is the reduction in credibility".

Nicola Sturgeon's chief adviser Liz Lloyd also announced her resignation on Friday, saying it was the "biggest honour of my life" to have worked with the first minister.

Earlier in the week the Scottish Sun had reported Ms Lloyd was advising Mr Yousaf's campaign.

Leadership candidates Kate Forbes and Ash Regan

The SNP's membership hit a peak of 125,000 in 2019 as support for the party surged in the wake of the independence referendum but had dropped to 85,000 by the end of last year.

That suggests a drop of 12,000 inside a matter of months.

After the most recent membership figures were released, Kate Forbes' campaign manager, Michelle Thomson MSP, said she was pleased that "common sense has prevailed" - but that the "alarming drop in members shows that the party needs a change in direction".

Ash Regan's campaign linked the decline to the Scottish government's controversial gender recognition reforms while the party's president Mike Russell suggested cost of living pressures could offer an alternative explanation.

The third candidate in the contest, Health Secretary Humza Yousaf, said it was "really important" the SNP did not lose any more members but said the best way to do this was to continue with the party's "progressive agenda".