Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s former first minister, has been released without charge pending additional investigations following her arrest in reference to the continuing inquiry into the SNP’s funding and funds. Sturgeon was questioned by detectives and later launched from custody. In an announcement, she expressed certainty of her innocence and described the scenario as “shocking and deeply distressing.”
Police have been investigating the whereabouts of £660,000 in donations given to the SNP by independence activists to be used in a future independence referendum campaign. Sturgeon’s release implies that she could be re-arrested at a later date if necessary. Following her release, she took to Twitter, thanking folks for their messages of assist and her family for offering strength throughout this time.
Sturgeon was succeeded as first minister and SNP leader in March by Humza Yousaf, who is now going through calls from opposition politicians and at least one of his personal MPs, Angus MacNeil, to suspend her from the celebration. MacNeil tweeted, “This soap-opera has gone far enough, Nicola Sturgeon suspended others from the SNP for an awful lot less!”
Outlawed comes after the arrest of Sturgeon’s husband, former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, on April 5 and the party’s treasurer Colin Beattie, each of whom had been also launched pending additional investigations. The investigation, generally recognized as Operation Branchform, started after complaints have been made about what occurred to £666,954 donated to the SNP for a future independence referendum marketing campaign.
Sturgeon announced her resignation as SNP leader and first minister in February, with Humza Yousaf winning the competition to switch her in March. Sturgeon has denied that the timing of her resignation was influenced by the continued police investigation. She remains the longest-serving first minister in Scotland and the only woman to have held the place..