Nicola Sturgeon was questioned by police for more than seven hours on Sunday
FILE PHOTO © Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images
Former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has denied any wrongdoing, after police arrested and questioned her on Sunday, before releasing without any charges, amid an ongoing probe into alleged financial misconduct by the Scottish National Party (SNP).
“To find myself in the situation I did when I am certain I have committed no offence is both a shock and deeply distressing,” Sturgeon said in a statement upon her release.
Police Scotland confirmed on Sunday evening that the woman was arrested at 10.09am, questioned by detectives, and released from custody at 5.24pm, without any charges “pending further investigation.” Authorities also said she was “a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party.”
The former leader, who quit as first minister and Scottish National Party leader in April, said she will take a few days to “process this latest development,” but promised “to be back in parliament soon where I will continue to represent my Glasgow Southside constituents to the very best of my ability.”
Sunday’s arrest is the third as part of Police Scotland’s ‘Operation Branchform’, an investigation into claims that £600,000 ($754,000) in political donations from supporters intended to be spent in a campaign to promote independence from London was misspent by the SNP.
The former first minister’s husband Peter Murrell, a former chief executive of the SNP, was arrested in April. Party treasurer Colin Beattie was also detained and questioned as part of the enquiry. Both were released without charges.
“Innocence is not just a presumption I am entitled to in law. I know beyond doubt that I am in fact innocent of any wrongdoing,” Sturgeon insisted in her statement, adding she could not go into detail “given the nature of this process.”
