The husband of former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been re-arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the finances of the Scottish National Party.
Peter Murrell, 59, was previously arrested as a suspect on 5 April 2023 before being released without charge.
He was taken into custody at 09:13 on Thursday and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives.
Mr Murrell resigned as the party's chief executive in March 2023
That's all from our live coverage of police confirmation that former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell has been re-arrested.
Keep up to date with the story here on the BBC Scotland News website.
Jamie McIvor
BBC Scotland News Correspondent
Standing outside Peter Murrell's house at the moment, there is no sign of any police operation within the property and no obvious police presence nearby.
Mr Murrell, you will remember, was first arrested just over a year ago, questioned for several hours and released without charge.
Later both the then party treasurer Colin Beattie and Nicola Sturgeon herself were also arrested and released without charge.
What we know is that Peter Murrell was arrested again this morning and he's being questioned by detectives.
Brian Taylor, who is a former BBC Scotland political editor, believes the impact of the ongoing controversy over SNP finances will be felt right at the top of the party.
He told BBC Radio's Drivetime programme that Operation Branchform has been "exceptionally prolonged", but financial investigations are extremely difficult to pursue.
"There have been some suggestions and hints, and frankly guess work, that it may be coming to a close, simply because it's been going on for so long," Taylor says.
"The difficulty for Humza Yousaf is he's not directly responsible for the events.
"He wasn't the leader of the party at the time, he wasn't the treasurer, he wasn't the chief executive. It's not his bag, but he will take the hit and has taken the hit from the controversy that has pursued him over this question."
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Scottish National Party has faced a period of extraordinary turmoil, with a police probe into its finances leading to the arrests of senior party figures. Here are some of the key dates over the past few years:
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.
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.
5 April 2023 - Mr 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 Mr Murrell's 92-year-old mother 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.
16 May 2023 - Police Scotland confirms it asked for warrants to search the home of Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon while the SNP leadership contest was still under way, but had to wait two weeks for permission to go ahead, by which time the contest was over.
11 June2023 - Nicola Sturgeon is arrested and taken into custody after attending a police interview, by prior arrangement, in connection with the inquiry. She is released without charge seven hours later, pending further investigation.
18 April 2024 - Mr Murrell is re-arrested at his home as part of the Police Scotland investigation.
David Wallace Lockhart
Political correspondent
I’m outside SNP headquarters in Edinburgh where Peter Murrell served as chief exec of the party – a position he no longer holds.
The latest development is the news that Mr Murrell has been re-arrested but it’s important to stress at this point that there have been no charges.
The understanding is he was taken in by Police Scotland this morning – that’s the latest we have.
There’s been a lot of criticism about the length of time that this investigation seems to be taking.
It has been something that's been rumbling along in Scottish politics, occasionally flaring up, for three years now.
A lot of questions are being asked about when exactly it will reach any sort of conclusion.
Peter Murrell was re-arrested at 09:13, however the police did not release the information to the media until just before 17:00.
All was quiet at the home he shares with his wife - former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon - in Baillieston, Glasgow, this evening.
Image source, ReutersPolice outside Mr Murrell and Ms Sturgeon's home in April 2023
In 2021, Police Scotland received complaints relating to more than £660,000 donated to the SNP by activists for an independence referendum campaign.
The first complaint was widely reported to be from pro-independence activist Sean Clerkin.
That July, Police Scotland formally launched Operation Branchform, an investigation looking into the complaints about the SNP's finances.
SNP chief executive Peter Murrell was subsequently arrested at the Glasgow home he shared with his wife Nicola Sturgeon in April 2023, and later released.
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 Mr Murrell's mother in Dunfermline.
Former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie and former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon were also arrested in connection with the investigation. They were subsequently questioned and later released without charge.
No-one has since been charged and the party has vowed to fully co-operate with the investigation.
In 2022, 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.
SNP accounts published in August showed the party made a loss of more than £800,000 last year after its income and membership dropped.
Peter Murrell's arrest means the case is now active for the purposes of the Contempt of Court Act 1981.
This means everyone has to be careful about what they say to avoid potentially prejudicing any future trial.
This applies to politicians and members of the public on social media as well as broadcasters and newspapers.
The rules around what can and cannot be said about this - or any other - case are interpreted much more strictly in Scotland than in some other parts of the world.
Scotland is not the United States, for example, where pundits merrily speculate about the guilt or innocence of a suspect long before the case goes anywhere near a jury.
Convictions for contempt of court can be punishable by up to two years in prison and/or an unlimited fine.
In statement released to the media, Police Scotland said: "A 59-year-old man has today, Thursday, 18 April, 2024, been re-arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party.
"The man, who was previously arrested as a suspect on 5 April, 2023, was taken into custody at 9.13am and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives.
"The matter remains active for the purposes of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 and the public are therefore advised to exercise caution if discussing it on social media. For this reason, Police Scotland has turned off the comments function on this post.
"As the investigation is ongoing we are unable to comment further at this time."
When someone reports a potential crime, the police will decide if an investigation is required. They will then try to gather evidence, establish all the facts and decide whether to charge a suspect.
In this case, that process began more than 30 months ago.
Last year, Police Scotland sent an initial report seeking advice and guidance from the body which prosecutes crimes in Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).
That advice was provided and the investigation continued, leading to Mr Murrell’s arrest in April 2023.
Currently, the Crown has not received a standard prosecution report from Police Scotland.
Legally, Mr Murrell can be held by police for 12 hours of questioning.
Scottish Labour's deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “This is another incredibly concerning development in this long-running investigation.
“It is essential that Police Scotland is able to proceed with this investigation without interference.”
Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said the re-arrest was "an extremely serious development".
He added: "It’s essential that all SNP staff and politicians, past and present, co-operate fully with Police Scotland.
“This complex investigation has been going on for three years and it’s vital that the SNP are fully open and transparent so that the police can finally conclude their probe into the party’s murky finances.”
Image source, PA MediaPeter Murrell was a constant in the hierarchy of the Scottish National Party for more than two decades.
He became chief executive of the party as the sun was setting on the last century and as the dawn was rising on the new chapter of devolution.
During the 59-year-old's tenure, the party grew in confidence and became an indomitable election-winning machine.
But in the public's eye he would be remembered for something else - being married to Scotland's first minister.
It was on a summer's day in 2010 when Nicola Sturgeon married her long-term partner at a ceremony in Glasgow.
He had already been SNP chief for 11 years and she was deputy first minister in charge of the health brief for the Scottish government, led by Alex Salmond.
Politics played its part in bringing the couple together. According to a biography of Ms Sturgeon by David Torrance, they first met in 1988 at an SNP youth weekend and became a couple in 2003.
Image source, Getty ImagesFormer SNP chief executive Peter Murrell has been re-arrested in connection with an investigation into party finances.
Mr Murrell, 59, was taken into custody for questioning at 09:13, more than a year after his first arrest.
On 5 April 2023, Police Scotland officers searched Mr Murrell's home near Glasgow, which he shares with former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
He was later released without charge pending further investigation.
Police Scotland have now confirmed his re-arrest.
It follows a probe known as Operation Branchform into the spending of more than £600,000 in donations for Scottish independence campaigning.
Ms Sturgeon, who resigned as first minister and SNP leader in February 2023, was arrested two months after her husband, while the former party treasurer Colin Beattie was also arrested.
Both Ms Sturgeon and Mr Beattie were released without charge pending further investigation.