Sturgeon 'relieved and vindicated' as police investigation ends

Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has spoken of her relief after it was confirmed she will face no action in the Police Scotland investigation into SNP finances.

The announcement came as her estranged husband, ex-SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court charged with embezzlement.

He made no plea during a private hearing and was granted bail.

Police also confirmed former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie was no longer under investigation.

Making a statement outside her Glasgow home, Ms Sturgeon said had been told she was now "completely in the clear".

She told reporters: "For almost two years, I have had this cloud of investigation hanging over me.

"I think it won't surprise anybody to hear me say that has not been an easy experience. So to reach this point today is obviously something I am relieved about."

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."

In addition to a sense of relief, Ms Sturgeon said the police announcement provided her with "a bit of vindication as well".

Peter Murrell was granted bail at Edinburgh Sheriff Court

Ms Sturgeon and Mr Murrell recently announced they were separated and in the process of ending their marriage.

Mr Murrell was charged in April of last year, having been arrested and released without charge the previous year.

He is understood to have resigned his SNP membership.

Mr Beattie, the SNP MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, was arrested and released without charge in April 2023.

Two months later Ms Sturgeon was also arrested and released without charge.

Police Scotland confirmed that inquiries into both Ms Sturgeon and Mr Beattie had now "concluded".

The force said the pair had "not been charged and are no longer under investigation".

Mr Beattie said he was "very relieved" to be told he was no longer under investigation.

"I knew myself I had done nothing wrong but two years is a long time to be waiting for a result," he told reporters at Holyrood

The MSP said it had been a "hard time" for his family, adding: "I'm certainly going to be raising a glass with my wife tonight that's for sure."

First Minister John Swinney said he shared Ms Sturgeon and Mr Beattie's relief.

"I hope this provides the opportunity for both Nicola and Colin to move on from the difficulties they have faced while this investigation has been under way," he said.

The first minister, Ms Sturgeon's former deputy, acknowledged the inquiry had been "very difficult" for the SNP.

He said the court proceedings opened the possibility that the party had been the potential victim of embezzlement., and that he would ensure the "highest standards of governance and financial control" under his leadership.

Ms Sturgeon and Mr Murrell's home was searched by police in April 2023

Ms Sturgeon unexpectedly announced her resignation as first minister and SNP leader in February 2023 after eight years in office.

She denied her decision was influenced by the police investigation.

Mr Murrell resigned as SNP chief executive a month later having taken responsibility for misleading the media about party membership numbers.

In April 2023, the home he shared with Ms Sturgeon was searched by police officers looking into what happened to £660,000 of donations given to the SNP by independence activists.

Police also searched the SNP's headquarters in Edinburgh and confiscated a luxury motorhome parked in the driveway of Mr Murrell's mother in Fife.

The investigation, called Operation Branchform, has lasted almost four years.

In September last year it emerged that officers had sent prosecutors details of what they had uncovered in an "advice and guidance report" and were seeking formal advice on what they should do next.

Ms Sturgeon announced last week that she will step down as an MSP at next year's Holyrood election.

Mr Beattie intends to stand for election, though he is facing a selection contest for the SNP nomination in his constituency.

This investigation has been running for nearly four years. That may not be a long time in police work but it is an epic period in politics.

Not only has this case been hanging over those at the centre of the investigation, it has cast a dark shadow over the party of government in Scotland too.

It produced extraordinary scenes at the home Nicola Sturgeon shared with her now estranged husband Peter Murrell, with a blue police tent pitched in their garden.

In Edinburgh, officers searched SNP headquarters and carried boxes from the building.

Some very senior figures in the SNP believe they have paid a significant political price for this police work.

They believe it was a contributory factor in their heavy losses at last year's UK general election.

Nicola Sturgeon - who has always denied wrongdoing - once indicated that her personal experience of the police investigation had been "traumatic".

That does not mean she will now seek some form of redress. My understanding is that she is more likely to let the issue go and try to get on with her life.