Scotland's ex-Prime Minister Sturgeon arrested

2023-06-11 17:52:00

Former Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been released shortly after her arrest. No formal allegations have been made against them, Scottish police said on Sunday evening. The investigations continued, it said. The 52-year-old had been arrested around seven hours earlier as a suspect in the course of investigations into financial inconsistencies in her party.

In a statement shortly thereafter, Sturgeon maintained her innocence. Finding herself in the situation she was in on Sunday was both a shock and deeply upsetting, the ex-prime minister said on Twitter in the evening. “Innocence is not just a presumption that you are legally entitled to. I know without a doubt that I am indeed innocent,” she explained. She now needs a day or two to process the latest developments. Then she intends to be back in Parliament soon to continue representing her constituency.

Financial inconsistencies in the party

A few months after her resignation as Scottish Prime Minister, Sturgeon was arrested in the course of investigations into financial inconsistencies in her party. The 52-year-old was in custody and was being questioned by investigators, Scottish Police said on Sunday. She is considered a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the finances of the Scottish governing party SNP.

Sturgeon’s spokeswoman confirmed corresponding media reports on Sunday. Sturgeon has agreed to cooperate in the investigation of the affair and stands by it. The SNP also said it was cooperating fully with the authorities.

The investigations, which have been ongoing since 2021, are about a possible misappropriation of donations of almost 667,000 pounds (around 780,000 euros), which were collected in 2017 by supporters of Scottish independence for a campaign to this effect. The money could have been spent for other purposes, however. Her husband Peter Murrell and then SNP Treasurer Colin Beattie were arrested in April. Both were later released without any charges being brought against them. Authorities also searched a number of properties including the home of Sturgeon and Murrell and the SNP party headquarters in Edinburgh.

Sturgeon, a vocal opponent of Brexit, became the face of the Scottish independence movement during her reign. In mid-February, after more than eight years, she surprisingly announced her withdrawal from the leadership of the party and government. At that time there were already allegations against her husband. However, she asserted that she was not resigning under pressure, but because she knew “with heart and mind” that it was the right time for it.

Since the end of March, Sturgeon’s 38-year-old confidant Humza Yousaf has been the new leader of the party and government. Sturgeon remains MP for Glasgow Southside constituency.

Politically, Sturgeon’s arrest is a serious blow to the SNP. Yousaf tried to shift the focus away from arrests and police investigations and back to the party’s policies and visions, BBC correspondent Nick Eardley analyzed. It is inevitable that Yousaf will now have to put up with questions about the arrest and what it means for the party for days on end.