Husband of former SNP leader Sturgeon reportedly held in funding probe
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[April 05, 2023]
GLASGOW (Reuters) - The husband of former Scottish leader
Nicola Sturgeon has been arrested as part of an investigation into the
funding of the governing pro-independence Scottish National Party, the
BBC said on Wednesday.
Police Scotland said a 58-year-old man had been "arrested as a suspect"
and its officers were carrying out searches at a number of addresses
linked to the investigation.
Peter Murrell, 58, who stood down as the chief executive of the
governing pro-independence party last month, was taken into police
custody on Wednesday morning, the BBC said.
Police Scotland said they were carrying out searches at a number of
addresses as part of the investigation. A marked police van could be
seen outside the couple's home in Glasgow, which was sealed off with
blue and white police tape, and a blue tent had also been put up
outside.
"The man is in custody and is being questioned by Police Scotland
detectives," the force added.
The police investigation is looking at what happened to more than
600,000 pounds ($748,920) raised by Scottish independence campaigners in
2017, which was supposed to have been ring-fenced for spending on that
issue but was missing from party's filed accounts.
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The SNP said it would not be appropriate to comment on any live police
investigation but the party has been cooperating with the probe. The
Scottish government said it was a matter for the party.
Talking to reporters after news broke, Scotland's First Minister and SNP
leader Humza Yousaf called the development "challenging" and said that
he wanted to reassure SNP members on the issues of transparency and
party finances.
"The news this morning, it's challenging and it's difficult," he said.
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![](../images/040523PIX/news_a28.jpg)
SNP Chief Executive Peter Murrell
arrives to give evidence to a Scottish Parliament committee in
Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain December 8, 2020. Andy Buchanan/Pool
via REUTERS
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The arrest and ongoing investigation comes after a bruising few
months for the SNP, which has dominated Scottish politics for most
of the last two decades.
Murrell, who had run the SNP for more than two decades, resigned
last month after accepting blame for misleading the public about a
plunge in the number of party members.
Sturgeon also stood down as the leader of Scotland’s semi-autonomous
government last month after eight years in power, saying she had
become too divisive to lead the nation to independence.
Her successor, Yousaf, narrowly won a bitterly-fought leadership
contest which exposed deep divisions over how to achieve
independence and other policy issues.
The SNP said its governing body had agreed at a meeting on Saturday
to a review of the party's governance and transparency which would
be taken forward in the coming weeks.
In a referendum in 2014, Scots rejected ending the more-than
300-year-old union with England by 55% to 45%. Britain’s vote to
leave the European Union two years later when a majority of Scots
wanted to stay, and Scotland’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic
brought new support for independence.
($1 = 0.8012 pounds)
(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill, additional reporting by Sarah Young,
editing by Michael Holden and Conor Humphries)
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