Scotland's former chief minister, Nicola Sturgeon, was detained by police on Sunday. The arrest of the former leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) is part of Operation Branchform, on the alleged irregular financing of the party. Her husband, Peter Murrell, a former executive director of the party, was also arrested and released without charge in April as part of the same investigation.
Update on investigation into Scottish National Party funding and finances.
More: https://t.co/0zR05TnK4o pic.twitter.com/WNA9OTJX3Q
— Police Scotland (@PoliceScotland) June 11, 2023
Questioning agreed, says Sturgeon spokeswoman
Scottish police issued a press release announcing that they had arrested a 52-year-old woman "in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party." According to the release, Sturgeon "is in custody and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives."
In statements to BBC, a spokeswoman for Sturgeon confirmed the information, although she insisted that the arrest and subsequent questioning had been previously agreed upon: "Nicola Sturgeon has today, Sunday 11 June, by arrangement with Police Scotland, attended an interview where she was to be arrested and questioned in relation to Operation Branchform. Nicola has consistently said that she would cooperate with the investigation if asked and continues to do so." The former chief minister resigned from her government and party positions last February.
SNP remains silent
The SNP announced, through a spokesman, that the party would not comment as there is an ongoing police operation. "The SNP has been cooperating fully with this investigation and will continue to do so. However, it is not appropriate to publicly address any issues while that investigation is ongoing," he said.
