The arrest of Peter Murrell, Nicola Sturgeon’s husband, in connection with a police investigation into the Scottish National party’s finances is likely to have a far-reaching effect on UK politics and possibly the next general election.
In the weeks since Sturgeon announced in mid-February that she was standing down as the SNP’s leader and as first minister, her party had already endured the most damaging period in its history during a deeply divisive campaign to elect her successor.