The husband of former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Peter Murrell, was “arrested as a suspect” and questioned by police on Wednesday “in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party,” police said.
According to police, Murrell was released without charges “pending further investigation” after being held for nearly 12 hours, and a prosecution report was being prepared for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.
According to reports, police searched the SNP’s Edinburgh headquarters and several other addresses, as well as Murrell and Sturgeon’s Glasgow home, erecting a large evidence tent in front of the house and garden.
A spokesperson for Sturgeon told The Guardian on Wednesday that she had “no prior knowledge” of the arrest or search, but that she “will fully cooperate with Police Scotland if required.”
The investigation was launched in response to complaints about the SNP’s handling of more than £600,000 ($750,000) in donations solicited to campaign for a second independence referendum. While the promised referendum has been repeatedly postponed with no current date set, the money has allegedly already been spent on daily expenses, leaving the party with a deficit of £752,000 and £145,000 in cash for 2021. At the time, Sturgeon insisted that “every penny” raised for the independence campaign would be spent as donors intended.
Murrell was discovered last year to have loaned the party more than £100,000 to help with “cash flow” issues following the last election. According to the BBC, Sturgeon also loaned the SNP £107,620 in June 2021, half of which was repaid by October of that year – despite the fact that a party spokesman claimed the loan was not credit at all, but rather a “personal contribution” by the chief executive.
Sturgeon resigned as leader of the Scottish National Party in February, citing mental and physical exhaustion. While she refused to say whether the police investigation into her party’s finances influenced her decision to resign, her successor, SNP first minister Humza Youssef, said it did not. Murrell resigned from the party last month after admitting to lying to the public about the party’s membership decline.
Youssef, who took office less than two weeks ago, called Murrell’s arrest “challenging” and “difficult,” promising the party’s continued cooperation and noting that it had committed to a governance and transparency review. The SNP has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
