Who is Nicola Sturgeon? Scotland ex-first minister arrested in SNP funding probe

Nicola Sturgeon, who was at the helm of Scotland's politics as the first minister for over eight years since 2014, was arrested on Sunday as part of an ongoing investigation into the financial affairs and funding of the Scottish National Party (SNP). She was later released by the police without any charges.

In a statement, Sturgeonsaid she is “innocent of any wrongdoing."

“To find myself in the situation I did today when I am certain I have committed no offence is both a shock and deeply distressing. I know that this ongoing investigation is difficult for people, and I am grateful that so many continue to show faith in me and appreciate that I would never do anything to harm either the SNP or the country," she said.

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"While I will take a day or two to process this latest development, I intend to be back in Parliament soon where I will continue to represent my Glasgow Southside constituents to the very best of my ability.”

Police earlier confirmed that 52-year-old Sturgeon was taken into custody as a suspect and was being questioned by detectives.

In 2021, an investigation was initiated by Scotland Police following complaints regarding the Scottish National Party's utilisation of a fund exceeding £600,000. This fund had been raised by activists with the specific intention of being allocated solely for campaigning in support of Scottish independence.

Police Scotland released a statement saying, "A 52-year-old woman has been arrested today, on Sunday, June 11, 2023, as a suspect in relation to the ongoing investigation concerning the funding and financial matters of the Scottish National Party."

The resignation announcement in February was made in a hasty manner as a news conference was rushed at the last minute in Edinburgh. The conference was scheduled for 11:00 AM.

In her resignation speech, Sturgeon saidthat she will "leave other people to judge" her tenure. "It's not the case that this decision is because of short-term issues," she asserted.

"I believe my successor will lead Scotland to independence."Moreover, Sturgeon also said that she has intentions to stay in parliament until the next election.

On 5th April, authorities conducted searches at both Sturgeon's residence and the SNP's headquarters in Edinburgh.

Additionally, Sturgeon's husband, Peter Murrell, who served as the former SNP chief executive, was arrested but later released without any charges filed against him.During the investigation, a luxury motorhome located outside Murrell's mother's home in Dunfermline was also seized by the police.

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Who is Nicola Sturgeon?

Nicola Sturgeon was Scotland's longest-serving first minister who was in office since 2014. She took over as the first minister after a referendum on Scottish independence from the UK was held in Scotland on September 18, 2014 and was at the helm since then. After a majority of people voted against the independence of Scotland from the UK, the then-first minister Alex Salmond resigned and Nicola took charge.

After a contentious Scottish National Party (SNP) leadership election, Nicola Sturgeon was succeeded by Humza Yousaf. However, the initial period of Yousaf's tenure as the new leader has been overshadowed by the ongoing police investigation.

Scotland's Independence Referendum, Gender Reforms

Since Sturgeon came to power, she led the party to a slew of election victories. However, there were dissenting voices in theparty as Sturgeon expressed a desire to fight the next election as a de facto referendum. Even, as per reports, a Special Democracy Conference was also scheduled to take place in the month of March where the party was looking forward to securing independence.

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Scottish National Party's decision on the conference over the contentious issue came after UK supreme court ruled in the month of November that the Scottish Parliament does not have the power to hold another vote.

Another issue that has caused much furore in Scotland is the debate over gender reforms. Scotland is pushing to provide people with a gender recognition certificate. However, the UK government is not so happy about the move. Currently, people apply to a UK gender recognition panel, but Scotland calls the present set-up as too complex and invasive to already marginalised groups.

Former Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Stephen Gethins said he was "surprised... and disappointed" over the announcement of her resignation.

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He reportedly said that Nicola Sturgeon is a leader with "distinction" and that it was a "hard, stressful job." Moreover, party MP Stewart McDonald also praised her saying she was "the finest public servant of the devolution age."

In her resignation speech, the former first minister had said her decision to resign came from the point of deeper and long-term assessment. She subtly denied that her resignation has anything to do with recent political pressures.She revealed that she had been wrestling with the decision for some weeks now and is now looking forward to "a different way of living life".

"I've been thinking about it with oscillating intensity," she saidwith a smile."It started to crystallise abit more since acouple of weeks ago."

Taking a jab at her opponents, Sturgeon said that the longer any leader is in office, the more people will find things to disagree with you on. "But I believe I could, if it was just about can I lead this part [and] country forward...the answer is yes. But it is much deeper than that," she added.

"I'm a human being...of course I've got regrets about all sorts of things". I'm proud of my time as first minister.Maybe I want to spend a bit of time on Nicola Sturgeon, the human being. Does that sound selfish? I hope it doesn't.I could go on for another few months, six months, a year maybe, but I know as time passed, I would have less and less energy to give to the job," Sturgeon confessed and added, "I owe it to the country to say it now."

Sturgeon said that she is not dropping out of politics completely and will continue with her personal campaigns and will continue to represent her constituency.

She also evoked the issue of Scotland's independence saying "obviously there is independence" and that she is "convinced the cause is being won". Speaking on her achievements, Sturgeon said, "Scotland is fairer today than it was in 2015. There is so much that I am proud of, but there is always so much more to be done."

The minister was teary-eyed during her speech. Sturgeon expressed gratitude to her husband and family saying, "They were my rock throughout." She also thanked the SNP and thepeople of Scotland.

"Please know that being your first minister has been the privilege of my life," she said.

Sturgeon, however,made no specific reference to Scotland's gender reforms. The minister urged politicians to "reset the tone and the tenor of our discourse".

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