Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will not be charged in connection with Police Scotland’s long-running investigation into SNP finances.
And she is no longer under investigation.
The probe, which has been ongoing since July 2021, is linked to the spending of around £600,000 raised by SNP supporters to be earmarked for Scottish independence campaigning.
The announcement came as her husband, ex-SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court charged with embezzlement.
Murrell made no plea during a private hearing and was granted bail.
Police Scotland has also confirmed former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie who had previously been arrested was no longer under investigation.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Following direction from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, criminal enquiries into two people arrested as part of the investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party have now concluded.
The 73 year-old man arrested on 18 April, 2023, and the 54 year-old woman arrested on 11 June, 2023, have not been charged and are no longer under investigation.”
Speaking today following the announcement Ms Sturgeon said: “The former first minister said: “I have done nothing wrong, and I don’t think there was ever a scrap of evidence that I had done anything wrong.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
