(Bloomberg) – Former Prime Minister Nicola SturgeonScotland’s husband was charged by police as part of an investigation into the finances of the Scottish National Party, a development that will put the Scottish governing party under renewed scrutiny at a critical time in the run-up to the UK elections expected this year places.
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Although Police Scotland did not identify themselves Peter Murrell by name, they said in a statement that a 59-year-old man was arrested Thursday morning and was being questioned by detectives. A subsequent statement said the man had been charged in connection with the embezzlement of SNP funds. He is no longer in custody, police said.
Murrell’s arrest last year roiled the party, just weeks after Sturgeon announced she would step down as leader. Sturgeon herself was later arrested, before also being released without charge.
Police have been investigating whether around £600,000 ($747,000) in donations made to the SNP to campaign for Scottish independence may have been used for other purposes instead. Police Scotland, which is continuing its investigation, will now send a report to the Crown Prosecution Service, it said late on Thursday.
After last year’s arrests, police had remained relatively quiet about the progress of the investigation. Although Thursday’s events will spark renewed interest in the investigation, Police Scotland said it would make no further comment.
The development comes at a difficult time for the SNP and Sturgeon’s successor, Humza Yousaf, who is struggling to fend off the challenge from a resurgent Labor Party ahead of the UK general election due in late January 2025. the last.
Labor overtook the SNP in Scotland for the first time since the region’s independence referendum ten years ago, a YouGov survey showed last week.
The BBC and Scottish newspapers, including The National and The Herald, all mentioned Murrell in their reports on his rearrest. Police Scotland also said in its statement that the man involved was first arrested on April 5, 2023, the date Murrell was questioned and released without charge a year ago.
–With help from Simon Lee and Alastair Reed.
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