It is impossible to predict when the police investigation into the finances of the Scottish National party will end, the outgoing chief constable of Police Scotland has said.
Speaking to BBC Scotland, Sir Iain Livingstone said the investigation, which has resulted in the arrests of the party’s former chief executive Peter Murrell, his wife and former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, and the former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie, was “in the interest of everybody involved”.
All three were released without charge pending further investigation. Sturgeon has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, issuing a statement immediately after her arrest that said: “I know beyond doubt that I am in fact innocent of any wrongdoing.”
Livingstone said the investigation into claims the party had misspent £600,000 of donations involved dealing with “evidence and facts as opposed to rumour and innuendo”, adding: “So the sooner this investigation is concluded, the better for everyone involved.”
The chief constable, who retires on 10 August, insisted that the two years already spent on Operation Branchform were “entirely legitimate”, while “fiercely” rejecting any suggestions that it has been politically motivated.
In his final interview, he said: “I would rightly be criticised if I hadn’t conducted this investigation with the rigour that we are doing … Scottish ministers, all politicians, recognise that a police service need to be allowed to act independently and act of interests of justice.”
He said that a core team of 20 officers were working closely with “independent” prosecutors at the Crown Office.
Refusing to set a timescale, he said: “In the nature of these complex investigations, there are a whole series of factors and a multitude of variables that come into play. So I would never put an artificial timescale on it.
“It has to take its course. We will continue to work very closely with independent prosecutors and matters will progress in due course.”
Last month, Livingstone told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the investigation had “moved beyond” initial reports, again insisting that the time taken was “absolutely necessary”.
“Investigations around fraud or potential embezzlement or the misuse of funds take time. You need to go and obtain information from banks and other financial institutions. We can’t just do that automatically. We need to go and seek judicial warrants for that and there needs to be a process around that”.
He also insisted that erecting a forensic tent in Sturgeon’s garden during a search of her home had been proportionate and necessary.
Allies, including the former SNP director of communications Murray Foote, have challenged the police investigation. . Foote he did not believe it would result in any charges and described the pitching of the tent as a “grotesque circus”.
Jo Farrell, the current chief constable of Durham constabulary, will become Police Scotland’s first female chief constable when she replaces Livingstone.
