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Scottish Conservatives chairman Craig Hoy says it is "only right and proper" that Nicola Sturgeon - along with the SNP's former chief executive Peter Murrell and ex-treasurer Colin Beattie - is suspended from the party.

Hoy told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme the SNP should follow its own example when other sitting MPs or MSPs - for example Natalie McGarry - have previously faced similar investigations.

"I think it only right and proper that Humza Yousaf shows some leadership and suspends Nicola Sturgeon, Peter Murrell and Colin Beattie," the MSP said.

"It is incumbent upon Humza Yousaf to try as far as possible to put distance between himself and the chaos and scandal engulfing his party."

Chris Mason
Political editor

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Who would be a prime minister or a first minister with predecessors keeping as… busy… as this?

There are many, many differences between the story of Boris Johnson and the story of Nicola Sturgeon.

But, politically what unites them is what has happened makes the business of being prime minister - or first minister of Scotland - considerably harder.

Read more from Chris here.

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Two years ago, complaints were made to the police relating to more than £660,000 that was donated to the SNP by activists.

The money was raised after the party sought to raise funds for a future referendum campaign, and Police Scotland launched Operation Branchform to examine what happened to it.

SNP chief executive Peter Murrell was subsequently arrested at the Glasgow home he shares with his wife Nicola Sturgeon in April.

Murrell was questioned under caution and later released without charge pending further investigation.

The SNP's headquarters in Edinburgh were searched on the same day and a luxury motorhome valued at about £110,000 was also seized by police from outside the home of Murrell's mother in Dunfermline.

The party's accounts later showed it had just under £97,000 in the bank at the end of 2019, and total net assets of about £272,000.

Last year it emerged Peter Murrell gave a loan of more than £100,000 to the SNP to help it out with a "cash flow" issue after the last election.

The SNP had repaid about half of the loan by October of that year, but still owes money to Mr Murrell - although it has not said how much.

Later in April, SNP treasurer Colin Beattie was arrested at his home in Midlothian, and later released without charge pending further investigation.

Nicola Sturgeon was question by detectives at a police station after she attended voluntarily on Sunday morning. She was later released without charge.

Read more here.

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Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour's deputy leader, has said Nicola Sturgeon should be suspended from the SNP after her "shocking" arrest and release without charge over the weekend.

Baillie told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it was a "shocking state of affairs, although not surprising".

"I think we all anticipated that at some point Nicola Sturgeon would be arrested for questioning about the SNP finances because she is, of course, the third signatory on the accounts," she said.

"The question in my mind, given all this chaos, given the kind of secrecy and cover-up that has been the hallmark of how the SNP operate, is whether Humza Yousaf, the current first minister, is indeed strong enough to suspend her and protect the party."

Baillie said that the arrest has had profound impact on Scottish politics, "irrespective of what the outcome is".

"The SNP appeal to the people of Scotland based on them projecting an image of being kind of morally superior to the 'corrupt politics', if you like, of the rest of the UK. Now that clearly doesn't work for them anymore."

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The Alba MP and former justice secretary Kenny Macaskill tells the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that it is essential to put a "firewall" between the SNP and the cause of independence.

When asked about Nicola Sturgeon's arrest he said it was almost inevitable, given her position.

"The SNP is in danger of being a drag upon the cause of independence," he said.

"Their vote is going to be diminishing, they’re under a cloud that is not going away any time soon and that will tarnish the independence cause.

"What we require to do is to have a firewall between the SNP and the independence movement."

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Nicola Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell have temporarily moved out of their Glasgow home, according to The Times.

The paper reports the move is because of concerns that ongoing media attention is disturbing their neighbours.

The Times also reports that the former first minister is paying her own legal fees.

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The former first minister issued a statement on Sunday evening after she was released by police without charge.

Sturgeon spoke of her shock and said she was grateful that so many people continued to "show faith" in her.

"I would never do anything to harm either the SNP or the country," she said.

And she added: "Innocence is not just a presumption I am entitled to in law. I know beyond doubt that I am in fact innocent of any wrongdoing."

She also declared her intention to return to the Scottish Parliament.

The police investigation into the SNP's finances, which is known as Operation Branchform, goes back two years. Here are some of the key dates:

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

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

September 2022 - The SNP's longstanding accountants Johnston Carmichael resign from their role as auditors, but the news does not emerge until seven months later.

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.

27 March 2023 - Humza Yousaf wins the SNP leadership contest. The following day he is confirmed as the new first minister.

5 April 2023 - Murrell is arrested at the Glasgow home he shares with Nicola Sturgeon. He is questioned under caution and later released without charge pending further investigation. Police also search the SNP's headquarters in Edinburgh and confiscate a luxury motorhome parked in the driveway of Murrell's 92-year-old mother's home in Fife.

18 April 2023 - SNP treasurer Colin Beattie is arrested at his home in Midlothian, and later released without charge pending further investigation. The following day he resigns his position as party treasurer.

11 June 2023 - Nicola Sturgeon is arrested and released without charge, having attended a police station voluntarily

Read more: The SNP finances controversy

Should Sturgeon take a back seat for now?published at 08:56 British Summer Time 12 June 2023

08:56 BST 12 June 2023

David Wallace Lockhart
Political correspondent

Should Nicola Sturgeon be suspended from the SNP while the police investigation continues? That's a question that now appears to be doing the rounds in some SNP circles.

The former SNP leadership candidate and former government minister Ash Regan has entered the debate, calling on Nicola Sturgeon to consider voluntarily resigning her membership "until this can be cleared up".

And she's even said Humza Yousaf should consider suspending his predecessor if she won't go willingly.

It's important to point out that Ash Regan isn't Nicola Sturgeon's biggest fan. She resigned from her government last year in opposition to changes to gender legislation.

And - though she has her supporters - she's probably not the most influential SNP politician. When she ran for the party leadership last year she only got around 11% of votes.

But she's not the first internal voice suggesting that Nicola Sturgeon should take a back seat for now: a similar suggestion has come from the long-serving Westminster MP Angus Brendan MacNeil.

Any suspension feels unlikely. After all, neither Peter Murrell (the former SNP chief executive, and the husband of Nicola Sturgeon) or Colin Beattie (the former party treasurer) had their memberships suspended after being arrested. Both were released without charge.

For now, Nicola Sturgeon continues to stress that she believes she has committed no offence.

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Humza Yousaf should consider suspending Nicola Sturgeon from the SNP, says Ash Regan.

The backbench MSP, who stood in the party's leadership race, says Sturgeon should "consider voluntarily resigning her SNP membership until this can be cleared up".

Asked if if the former first minister should be suspended if she decides not to resign, Regan told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: “I think Humza should consider it under those circumstances, yes."

She added: “Over the past few months, we have seen three senior members of the party arrested.

"While it is quite true innocent until proven guilty, they have all been released without charge, this is a bit of a distraction to the party and the work of government."

Nick McKerrell, a legal expert at Glasgow Caledonian University, tells the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that the meaning of "arrested" has changed in the last five years.

Since the Criminal Justice Scotland Act came into law, arrested means the police have held someone in custody to help them with an investigation. That process used to be called detention Mr McKerrell explains.

Arrest in Scots law can mean you are arrested and not accused, or you are arrested and charged with a criminal offence.

Being arrested can make the individual's legal position much clearer, the legal expert says.

Image source, Getty Images

First Minister Humza Yousaf is facing calls to suspend his predecessor from the SNP after her arrest on Sunday.

Nicola Sturgeon - who says she is innocent of any wrongdoing - was questioned by police and released without charge as part of an investigation into the SNP's funding and finances.

Opposition parties have called on Mr Yousaf to suspend Ms Sturgeon from the party while the police investigation continues.

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said the first minister must "show some leadership".

The call was echoed by SNP MP Angus MacNeil, who said "this soap-opera has gone far enough".

You can read more on the story here.

The former first minister's release without charge after being arrested dominates Scotland's papers.

The news broke yesterday afternoon that Nicola Sturgeon had been arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the SNP's funding and finances.

Here are the key developments on Sunday:

• Scotland's former first minister was arrested by police at 10:09
• She was questioned by detectives for more than seven hours before being released from custody at 17:24 without charge, pending further investigations
• Ms Sturgeon later issued a statement saying that she knows "beyond doubt" that she is innocent of any wrongdoing, and that she intends to return to parliament
• Police Scotland said a report would be sent to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of events following the arrest of Nicola Sturgeon on Sunday.

The former first minister was interviewed by police officers for more than seven hours before being released.

The police move was part of an ongoing investigation into the SNP's finances.

Sturgeon has insisted she is completely innocent of any wrongdoing.

Stick with us throughout the day for breaking news and analysis.