Sturgeon arrested amid SNP funding probe, faces suspension calls

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf is under pressure to suspend former leader Nicola Sturgeon from the Scottish National Party (SNP) following her arrest on Sunday. Sturgeon was questioned by police in connection to an investigation into the SNP’s funding and finances but was released without charge. She has maintained her innocence throughout the process. The SNP has stated that it is fully cooperating with the investigation.

The police have been examining the use of £660,000 in donations given to the SNP by independence activists for a future independence referendum campaign for the past two years. SNP MP Angus MacNeil and opposition parties have called for Sturgeon’s suspension from the party. Scottish Conservatives chairman Craig Hoy also urged Yousaf to “show some leadership and suspend his predecessor from the SNP.”

Sturgeon was taken into custody and questioned by detectives at a police station after voluntarily attending shortly after 10am on Sunday. Officers had up to 12 hours to decide whether to charge her with a crime or release her while their inquiries continue. She was released from custody at around 5:25pm on the same day, just over seven hours after her arrest. Police stated that a report would be sent to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

In a statement published on Twitter, Sturgeon expressed her shock and distress at the situation, saying, “I know beyond doubt that I am in fact innocent of any wrongdoing.” She also thanked those who continue to show faith in her and emphasized that she would never do anything to harm the SNP or the country.

This development follows the arrest of Sturgeon’s husband, former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, on April 5 as part of the Operation Branchform investigation. The SNP’s headquarters in Edinburgh were searched on the same day, and a luxury motorhome worth approximately £110,000 was seized by police from outside Murrell’s mother’s home in Dunfermline. The party’s treasurer Colin Beattie was arrested almost two weeks later and subsequently released pending further investigations. Beattie resigned as treasurer shortly thereafter.

The arrest of the former first minister was widely anticipated, as she was one of the three signatories on the SNP’s accounts, alongside Murrell and Beattie. However, there was no indication of when the arrest would occur.