Edinburgh: According to police, Nicola Sturgeon's ex-husband Peter Murrell was "arrested as a suspect" and questioned on Wednesday "in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party."
After being detained for almost 12 hours, police said Murrell was released without being charged "pending further investigation." They added that a prosecution report was being prepared for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.
According to reports, police searched Murrell and Sturgeon's Glasgow home as well as the SNP's offices in Edinburgh and other locations. They also reportedly set up a sizable evidence tent over the front of the house and garden.
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According to a spokesperson, Sturgeon "had no prior knowledge" of the arrest or search on Wednesday, but "will fully cooperate with Police Scotland if required."
Investigation into the SNP's handling of more than £600,000 in donations sought to support the campaign for a second independence referendum led to complaints. Even though Sturgeon has repeatedly promised a referendum, no date has been set, and the money is said to have already been spent on daily expenses, leaving the party with a deficit of £752,000 and cash reserves of £145,000 for 2021. At the time, Sturgeon insisted that "every penny" donated to the independence campaign would be used as intended.
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It was discovered last year that Murrell had given the party a loan for more than £100,000 to help with "cash flow" issues after the previous election. According to the BBC, Sturgeon also gave the SNP a loan of £107,620 in June 2021, half of which was repaid by October of that same year, despite the fact that a party spokesman claimed the chief executive's loan was only a "personal contribution."
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After eight years in the position, Sturgeon retired as SNP leader in February, citing physical and mental exhaustion. She refused to say whether the investigation into her party's finances by the police had affected her decision to resign, but her successor, SNP First Minister Humza Youssef, said he did not think it had. After confessing to misleading the public about a decline in the party's membership numbers, Murrell left the party last month.
Youssef, who only recently assumed office, called the news of Murrell's arrest "challenging" and "difficult," promising the party's continued cooperation and pointing out that it had agreed to a review on governance and transparency. All wrongdoing has been denied by the SNP.