Former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has said the last few days have been “obviously difficult” after the arrest of her husband and the party’s former chief executive Peter Murrell amid a police investigation into its finances.
Speaking outside her Glasgow home, Ms Sturgeon said in a brief statement that she understands “the scrutiny that comes on me as a public figure”, adding that she intends to “get on with life and my job as you would expect”.
She added that there is “nothing” she can say about the ongoing investigation into her party’s finances.
She told reporters: “Well first off, there is obviously nothing I can say about the ongoing investigation.
READ MORE: SNP facing biggest and most challenging crisis in 50 years, says president
“As much as there are things I may want to say, I’m not able to do so, other than to say that, as has been the case, there will continue to be full cooperation.
“The last few days have been obviously difficult, quite dramatic at times, but I understand that is part of a process.”
Mr Murrell was released on Wednesday evening without charge pending further investigation.
Police searched their home in Glasgow for more than a day, with uniformed officers also searching the SNP’s headquarters in Edinburgh.
Ms Sturgeon said Mr Murrell is home but is “not able to say anything” about his arrest while the investigation continues.
It comes after one of the SNP’s most senior figures said the party is facing the biggest crisis in 50 years amid the ongoing police investigation.
In an exclusive interview with The Herald, SNP President Mike Russell admitted the last few days have been “wearing” for everyone within the party and added there will now be a wide-ranging review of how the SNP is governed.
Mr Russell also said he does not think independence can be achieved “right now”.
He said: “I don’t think independence can be secured right now; we need to work towards some coordinated campaigning.
“But I think this is achievable. My main focus is how we can create a new Yes movement that allows for different visions but conducted in an atmosphere of mutual trust.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel