The investigation has cast a dark shadowpublished at 15:08 Greenwich Mean Time 20 March

15:08 GMT 20 March

Glenn Campbell
BBC Scotland Political Editor

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.

Catriona Renton
BBC Scotland reporter

A small group of journalists has gathered outside the home that Peter Murrell shares with former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

While Peter Murrell has been charged with embezzlement his wife, who had been under investigation, is no longer being investigated.

She has always insisted she never did anything wrong.

Ms Sturgeon has not yet commented on today’s developments.

September 2014 - Scottish voters reject Scotland becoming an independent country by a margin of 55% to 45%.

March 2017 - Ms Sturgeon announces plans for a second independence referendum. On the same day, the SNP launches the #ScotRef fundraising appeal for the campaign. It is thought to have raised around £500,000 while another fundraiser took the total to £667,000.

October 2020 - Pro-independence blogger Stuart Campbell, publishes an article questioning where voter donations have gone after revealing the party only had £97,000 in the bank.

June 2021 - SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, the husband of Nicola Sturgeon, provides a £107,000 loan the party to "assist with cashflow".

July 2021 - Police Scotland formally launches Operation Branchform, an investigation looking into the complaints about the SNP's finances.

15 February 2023 - Nicola Sturgeon unexpectedly announces she is resigning as SNP leader and first minister, saying she knows "in my head and in my heart" this is the right time to step down.

April 2023 - Mr Murrell is arrested. He is questioned under caution and later released without charge pending further investigation. Colin Beattie is arrested the next week, followed by Sturgeon. Both were released without charge.

Full timeline here.

Police Scotland launched Operation Branchform in July 2021 to investigate the Scottish National Party's finances.

The investigation centred around claims that more than £650,000 raised since 2017 for a second independence referendum had been misspent.

The five-year-long investigation led to Peter Murrell, Nicola Sturgeon and Colin Beattie being arrested.

The latter were released without charge- while Murrell appeared in court today.

If you're just joining us, here's quick recap of what has been happening this afternoon.

Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell appeared at a private petition hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court earlier today charged with embezzlement.

The 60-year-old made no plea or declaration and was committed for further examination and bailed.

The charge relates to Police Scotland's long-running Operation Branchform probe into SNP finances.

Police said Ms Sturgeon and former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie were no longer under investigation.

In a statement, Police Scotland said: "Following direction from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, criminal inquiries 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 April 18, 2023 and the 54-year-old woman arrested on June 11, 2023 have not been charged and are no longer under investigation."

Image source, Getty Images

In April 2023, the home Peter Murrell 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 more than two 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.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

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

Her husband, Peter 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.

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

Police Scotland have now confirmed that inquiries into Ms Sturgeon have "concluded".

Welcome to our live coverage as it is confirmed Scotland's former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is no longer a suspect in the Police Scotland investigation into SNP finances.

The announcement came as her 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 Scotland also confirmed former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie was no longer under investigation.

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.

We will bring you all the latest news and reaction here.