Sturgeon’s ‘worst nightmare’ comes true after SNP scandal
Source: Flickr - Scottish Government
Nicola Sturgeon has said the arrest of her husband was her “worst nightmare” and that it had nothing to do with stepping down as leader of the Scottish National Party.
The former first minister has spoken out about the three weeks since her husband and former chief executive of the SNP Peter Murrell was arrested.
She said the aftermath of his arrest has been “very difficult” and “traumatic”.
She told a press pack at the Scottish Parliament: “I understand the view that some people might have — that I knew that all of this was about to unfold and that is why I walked away — nothing could be further from the truth.
“I could not have anticipated in my worst nightmares what would’ve unfolded over the past few weeks.
“I believe the SNP, notwithstanding the real difficulties that surround the party just now, is in good shape.”
The party has been under investigation surrounding the handling of £600,000 worth of donations.
The Glasgow Southside MSP has also revealed that she hasn’t been questioned by police, adding that she can’t go into “any detail that impinges a live police investigation”.
SNP former chief executive Peter Murrell was arrested as a “suspect” and had been questioned for around 12 hours by police before he was released without charge.
Shortly after, the party’s headquarters in Edinburgh were subject to a police raid where computers and boxes of files were taken.
Colin Beattie MSP who recently quit as the party’s treasurer was arrested too, but he was also released without charge.
The auditors for the SNP quit in 2022 and have not been replaced yet — the SNP Westminster group could miss out on over £1m from Westminster if its audited accounts are not submitted by the end of May.
Beattie denies knowledge over motorhome
The former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie has denied knowing about a motorhome purchased by the party that was kept at Peter Murrell’s mother’s home, before reversing his decision hours after.
He told journalists he didn’t know about the buying of a motorhome but released a statement backtracking this.
He revealed he actually found out about the purchase of the vehicle in the financial accounts for 2021.
Police seized the Niesmann and Bischoff motorhome from Peter Murrell’s mothers house on April 5, which was also the morning of his arrest.
