The husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has been arrested in connection with an investigation into Scottish National Party finances.
Peter Murrell, 58, is being questioned after being taken into police custody on Wednesday morning.
Police Scotland said officers were carrying out searches at a number of addresses as part of the investigation.
Mr Murrell resigned as the party’s chief executive last month, a post he had held since 1999.
He has been married to Ms Sturgeon since 2010.
Ms Sturgeon stood down as first minister last month and was last week succeeded by Humza Yousaf.
The new first minister said it was “a difficult day” for the SNP.
Mr Yousaf said: “I obviously can’t comment on a live police investigation.
“But what I will say is that the SNP has fully cooperated with the investigation and it will continue to do so.”
He added that the party had agreed to carry out a review on governance and transparency.
There has been police activity at Mr Murrell and Ms Sturgeon’s home in Glasgow and at SNP headquarters in Edinburgh.
At about 10:00 there were 10 uniformed officers stationed outside the couple’s detached property, along with three police vehicles.
The house was sealed off with blue and white tape and a tent was erected on the front lawn.
The police presence increased during the morning and the search activity was extended to the garage and back garden.
The curtains and blinds remained drawn and there was no sign of anyone in the property.
Meanwhile, two officers were posted outside SNP HQ and there were others inside.
At least six marked police vehicles were parked outside the building and officers carrying green crates and other equipment were seen going inside.
In July 2021 Police Scotland launched a formal investigation into the SNP’s finances after receiving complaints about how donations were used.
Questions had been raised about funds given to the party for use in a fresh independence referendum campaign.
Seven people made complaints and a probe was set up following talks with prosecutors.
Ms Sturgeon, then first minister and SNP leader, had insisted that she was “not concerned” about the party’s finances.
She said “every penny” of cash raised in online crowdfunding campaigns would be spent on the independence drive.
Nicola Sturgeon gave multiple reasons for her resignation – but the police investigation into her party’s finances was not one of them.
When I asked her about it on the day she stood down she declined to comment, but would later insist it had not been a factor.
I still wonder if it may have influenced the timing of her departure because her husband’s arrest would be much more awkward for her if she was still in office as SNP leader and first minister.
Police inquiries have been under way for about 18 months and were triggered when questions were raised about how more than £600,000 raised for independence campaigning had been spent, when there had not been an independence referendum for it to be spent on.
The SNP has previously said that it always intended to spend an equivalent sum in that way.
Some weeks ago, the investigation reached a crucial stage when officers consulted the Crown Office on how to proceed. It is now much clearer what direction they received from those who oversee criminal investigations in Scotland.
According to a statement, the SNP raised a total of £666,953 through referendum-related appeals between 2017 and 2020. The party pledged to spend these funds on the independence campaign.
Questions were raised after its accounts showed it had just under £97,000 in the bank at the end of 2019, and total net assets of about £272,000.
Last year it emerged Mr Murrell gave a loan of more than £100,000 to the SNP to help it out with a “cash flow” issue after the last election.
The then SNP’s chief executive loaned the party £107,620 in June 2021. The SNP had repaid about half of the money by October of that year.
At the time an SNP spokesman said the loan was a “personal contribution made by the chief executive to assist with cash flow after the Holyrood election”.
He said it had been reported in the party’s 2021 accounts, which were published by the Electoral Commission in August last year.
Weeks earlier, MP Douglas Chapman had resigned as party treasurer saying he had not been given the “financial information” to do the job.
Mr Murrell resigned last month after taking responsibility for misleading statements about a fall in party membership.
The number of members had fallen from the 104,000 it had two years ago to just over 72,000.
An SNP spokesperson said: “Clearly it would not be appropriate to comment on any live police investigation but the SNP have been cooperating fully with this investigation and will continue to do so.
“At its meeting on Saturday, the governing body of the SNP, the NEC, agreed to a review of governance and transparency – that will be taken forward in the coming weeks.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar told BBC Scotland it was “an extremely serious situation” and that the police investigation must be allowed to proceed without interference.
He added: “But there are huge questions I think to answer for both Humza Yousaf Nicola Sturgeon about what they knew and when.”
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: “This is clearly a very serious case and it’s absolutely crucial now that those at the top of the SNP, including Humza Yousaf and Nicola Sturgeon, co-operate fully with this ongoing police investigation.”
Alba leader Alex Salmond, who preceded Ms Sturgeon as first minister and SNP leader, told BBC Scotland: “I led the SNP for a long time. I’m very sad about what’s happening to it and indeed about what it has become.”
Scottish police normally have 12 hours to question a suspect after their arrest. At some point the detectives will decide whether or not to charge Peter Murrell.
Given the nature of the case, he is expected to be released from custody either way.
The police will then send a report to Scotland’s prosecution service, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), which will decide what happens next.
It will consider whether there is enough evidence to prove that a crime has taken place, whether the suspect was the perpetrator, and if it is in the public interests to prosecute.
The COPFS Prosecution Code says a fundamental principle of the process is that decisions on individual cases are immune from “political influence or other pressure”.
Prosecutors are required to carry out their duties “without fear, favour or prejudice”.
Source – BBC News
Share your thoughts