“Big questions” are to be asked of the SNP leadership, Labour said on Wednesday, after Nicola Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell was arrested as part of the ongoing investigation into party finances.
The 58-year-old, who quit as the party’s chief executive last month, was taken into custody and questioned as officers and forensic experts, some carrying shovels, searched the couple’s South Lanarkshire home and back garden.
Ms Sturgeon has come under pressure to reveal whether she knew about an impending arrest before her shock resignation in February – at which time she cited the pressures of almost a decade in the job – amid reports that senior party figures were interviewed by police in the days before she stood down.
A spokesperson for Ms Sturgeon said that she would “fully cooperate with Police Scotland if required” and added that she “had no prior knowledge” of Wednesday’s police activity.
Mr Murrell, arrested at 7.45am on Wednesday, was released from custody without charge around 7pm, “pending further investigation” by the police.
In extraordinary scenes on Wednesday:
- Police searched SNP headquarters in Edinburgh
- SNP said it is cooperating fully with the probe
- New leader Humza Yousaf called it “a difficult day”
It came only days after Mr Yousaf, the candidate most closely aligned with Ms Sturgeon, won the contest to replace her as party leader and first minister of Scotland.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said Mr Murrell’s arrest was “extremely serious”, adding: “There are big questions to be asked of both Humza Yousaf and Nicola Sturgeon.”
His deputy, Jackie Baillie, said: “We need Humza Yousaf and Nicola Sturgeon to urgently state what they knew and when.”
Police Scotland are currently investigating the matter of £660,000 that was raised by the SNP for Scottish independence campaigning, following allegations of donations fraud. The inquiry, codenamed Operation Branchform, was launched in 2021 after it was alleged that money had been diverted from a “ring-fenced” fund to fight a second Scottish independence referendum – sparking the resignation of several senior people from the SNP’s ruling body.
A Police Scotland statement said: “A 58-year-old man has today, Wednesday, 5 April 2023, been arrested as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party.”
It added: “The man is in custody and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives. Officers are also carrying out searches at a number of addresses as part of the investigation ... As the investigation is ongoing we are unable to comment further.”
Ms Sturgeon is now facing questions about how much she knew at the time of her resignation. Grilled about the police inquiry last month, Ms Sturgeon indicated that she had not been interviewed by police. Asked if she had heard about a police interview, she told Sky News: “No. I wouldn’t comment on any ongoing police investigation, and I am not going to comment on this one.”
Former party treasurer Douglas Chapman was among those interviewed in connection with the inquiry shortly before Ms Sturgeon’s resignation, according to Scotland’s Sunday Mail.
It emerged in December that Mr Murrell had given a personal loan of £107,000 to the SNP in June 2021. His loan was aimed at helping the SNP out with a “cash flow” issue after the last Holyrood election, the party said.
Mr Yousaf said he had first become aware of the arrest after it happened, as he admitted events were “not great” for trust in his party – describing it as a “difficult day”.
Asked if the investigation was the real reason Ms Sturgeon had resigned, Mr Yousaf said: “Nicola’s legacy stands on its own ... I believe her very much when she says how exhausted she was. So, no, I don’t think this is the reason why Nicola Sturgeon stood down.”
Asked if the arrest would hurt the SNP in the polls or at a potential by-election, he said: “It certainly doesn’t do us any good ... There will be some concerns. Our party membership will have concerns, too. What I can commit to as party leader is that we want to be absolutely transparent.”
Mr Murrell resigned from his top job last month after a row erupted over transparency in relation to party membership numbers. SNP media chief Murray Foote quit after journalists were misled about the true figures, with Mr Murrell taking responsibility for the misleading statements.
Mr Yousaf defended Mr Murrell at the time of his departure. “I don’t know why somebody would demand getting rid of somebody who’s been the chief executive of the party, who’s won countless elections in the last few years,” he said.
The SNP released a statement on Wednesday following Mr Murrell’s arrest. “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,” it said.
The statement added: “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.”
It comes as new polling shows that Labour has slashed the SNP lead for the next general election to five points among Scottish voters. If there was a general election, 36 per cent said they would vote for the SNP and 31 per cent said they would vote for Labour, the Redfield & Wilton survey found.
A week after entering office as first minister, Mr Yousaf’s first approval rating among Scottish voters was -7 percent. The polling also showed a 6 per cent lead for No if Scotland was to hold another independence referendum.
Alba Party leader Alex Salmond, a former SNP leader turned party critic, said the news of the arrest was “very sad”.
“It’s a very live investigation, so I couldn’t really comment on the specifics,” said Mr Salmond, who was walking into the BBC’s Edinburgh office just 25 metres away from the headquarters of the SNP.
“I led the SNP for a long time, so I’m very sad about what’s happening to it and, indeed, what it’s become.”
