NO action will be taken over Rishi Sunak’s jibe at former first minister Nicola Sturgeon during his speech to the Tory party conference, Police Scotland have confirmed.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister took aim at the former SNP leader after her arrest as part of Operation Branchform, the force’s investigation into the SNP’s finances.
Sturgeon was released without charge back in June following her arrest, but the PM evidently couldn’t resist taking a jab at the MSP during his keynote speech.
Sunak told delegates in Manchester that the former first minister wanted to “go down in the history books as the woman who broke up our country” but that she “now looks like she may go down for very different reasons”.
He also claimed the Union was the strongest it had been in a “quarter of a century”, but his comments regarding Sturgeon were widely condemned, with figures from across the independence movement speaking out.
Following the comments, Alba general secretary Chris McEleny reported Sunak to Police Scotland for contempt of court.
However, the force said in a statement on Thursday evening that they would not be pursuing the complaint.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We have received a complaint and, following consultation with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, no police action is being taken at this time.”
We told how McEleny had said officers should be able to pursue their investigation “fearlessly without interference from Rishi Sunak”. He said that Sunak’s comments were “making an assumption about a live Police Scotland investigation”.
McEleny was not the only figure to express outrage at the PM’s comments earlier this week.
SNP MP John Nicolson described the comments as “utterly appalling” from a party that is “mired in sleaze”.
Meanwhile, independent MP Angus MacNeil commented: “Surely such matters are too serious for PM jokes?”
During his speech, the PM also claimed that the “forces of separatism are in retreat”.
It was also not the first time Sunak had made a jibe at Sturgeon at the Tory party conference.
According to The Telegraph, he told a Scottish Conservative reception that the UK Government had sent enough money to Holyrood to pay for “28,000 motorhomes”.
He also claimed the Tories would “smash” the nationalists at the next General Election.
Remarks the SNP described as “snide” and a “mortifying attempt to distract”.
