Why Nicola Sturgeon might face police interrogation and what to ask her

Nicola Sturgeon, former First Minister, outside her home in Balliston, Glasgow. Photo: Watty Chung

The arrest of Colin Beatty, SNP treasurer, has sparked growing fears within the SNP that Nicola Sturgeon could be next to be called in for questioning.

Understandably, as of Wednesday morning, the former First Minister had not spoken to the police during their lengthy investigation into the party's finances.

She was one of three people named «Party officer» in the latest set of financial statements. Two others, Mr. Beatty and Peter Murrell, former SNP chief executive and husband of Ms. Sturgeon, were arrested and questioned as suspects.

Both were released without charge after several hours of interrogation, while while the investigation continues.

SNP top figures declined to publicly speculate about Ms Sturgeon's possible arrest or questioning of her as a witness. Humza Yousaf, her successor, said on Tuesday it would be inappropriate to speculate on a direct police investigation.

Shona Robison, Deputy First Minister and one of Ms Sturgeon's closest friends, took a similar stance on Wednesday. However, some SNP insiders now see an arrest of Ms. Sturgeon as increasingly likely.

Some in Holyrood believe that Mr. Yousaf's refusal to remove Mr. Beatty, the incumbent MSP, and Mr. Murrell as members of the SNP may be attempted not to set a precedent that would force him to withdraw Ms. Sturgeon's membership.

Despite claiming that Ms. Sturgeon will be «on speed dial» if he wins the SNP leadership contest, he insists he has not spoken to her since the police ransacked her home and arrested Mr. Murrell. .

Calum Steele, former secretary-general of the Scottish Police Federation, said Ms Sturgeon «could potentially be questioned» and an SNP politician told The Times: «Nicola should be next to be interviewed — it's inevitable.»

Video, on which Ms. Sturgeon angrily appears trying to stop an SNP audit of finances at a meeting of the party's ruling National Executive Committee, was leaked over the weekend.

It showed that she insisted that the party's finances were «never so strong» and warned colleagues not to assume there were «any problems». in cash in March 2021

Three months later, however, Mr Murrell lent the party £107,620 interest-free. When the loan was reported to the Electoral Commission and made public in December, the SNP said it was needed because of «cash flow» problems. A police investigation was also launched shortly after Ms. Sturgeon made her comments.

The investigation began after £600,000 of donations to the independence referendum campaign, which were never realized, were «missing» from the accounts. The party has previously said publicly donated funds have been shielded.

Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon: Timeline

When she was publicly asked about the loan in February, a week before her shocking resignation, Ms. Sturgeon felt uneasy.

She said she could not «remember exactly when she learned that her husband had loaned £107,620 to the party, a claim that raised eyebrows given the size of the amount and the unusual nature of the arrangement. When asked if the money belonged exclusively to Mr. Murrell, she repeated that it was «his resources.»

It remains unclear how much of the balance remains outstanding.

The latest disclosures show that £47,620 was repaid in two installments in August 2021 and next October, meaning that to our knowledge, £60,000 of the original interest-free balance remains outstanding.

Mr. Yusuf avoids asking whether the balance has been repaid, although he said he expects it to happen.

Party insiders also wondered why the amount loaned to the party was so specific, not round.

If the loan was only needed due to temporary cash flow problems after the 2021 Holyrood election, how did the SNP suggest, why didn't it pay off after almost two years?

One of the strangest features of the Police investigation is the seizure of a van worth around £110,000 at the home of Mr Murrell's elderly mother.

Niesman + Bischoff's car was confiscated by the police and, according to Mr. Yusaf, belonged to the SNP.

Neighbors said the car had been parked outside the home of Mr. Murrell's 92-year-old mother and had not moved since it was delivered to the property in January 2021.

SNP insiders said it was purchased for being used as a mobile campaign center during the 2021 Holyrood election due to uncertainty over Covid restrictions and «minimizing mixing». However, it has never been used for this purpose.

If so, it is not clear why the party bought it outright rather than renting the car. SNP had previously rented large buses and even a Sturgeon-branded helicopter during previous campaigns, but did not buy them.

It was also not explained why the cramped camper minimized mixing, as insiders claimed.

If SNP had temporary cash flow problems, as was later said, why didn't it sell the car rather than lose its value in the Dunfermline driveway?

Scottish Labor said the SNP was «testing the gullibility of the people of Scotland to the extreme» with insiders trying to explain the purchase.

SNP in turmoil

Mr Murrell quit the party after admitting responsibility for misleading the public about membership size in the SNP.

The party denied reports that it had lost around 30,000 members, saying the figure was «erroneous by about 30,000» and that it still had 104,000 members paid out. -up members.

However, after Mr. Yousaf's opponents as leader demanded that the number be made public, the party was forced to admit that it had only about 72,000 members.

Murray Foote, SNP spokesman for Holyrood resigned, saying he had been misled by giving reporters inaccurate denials. Mr. Murrell left the day after his party support dried up.

Ms. Sturgeon denied knowing that the SNP had lost so many members, but there were doubts about this given her role as party leader and the fact that she is Mr. Murrell's wife.

The former first minister announced that she was due to step down in February, just weeks after saying she had «a lot of money in the tank» and that she was «not even going to» back down.

She gave a number of reasons, including that she became too conflicted and too tired to continue acting.

However, the sudden nature of her departure, as well as the accelerated leadership rivalry, have prompted speculation that the real reason for her departure was a tightening of the police investigation.

Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Tories, said that Ms Sturgeon was «absurd » claim that the police investigation had nothing to do with her departure.

Police raided Ms. Sturgeon's home on April 5, just nine days after the conclusion of the SNP leadership contest.

Ms Sturgeon vehemently denies that the investigation had anything to do with her quitting smoking. Mr Yusuf dismissed the suggestion that the SNP was «in cahoots» with police over the timing, calling it a «conspiracy theory».

Less than a week before Ms Sturgeon announced her Sir Ian Livingston, Chief Constable of Police Scotland and Malcolm Graham, Deputy Chief Constable, visited the Scottish Parliament.

Police Scotland said they were there for a «regular meeting» with Keith Brown, then Attorney General. Forces denied rumors that they also dated Ms. Sturgeon.

In response to a freedom of information request sent by blogger Stuart Campbell of the Wings Over Scotland website, police declined to say whether the SNP's criminal investigation was discussed in a meeting with Mr Brown. .

The law enforcement agencies said that they could neither «confirm nor deny» that they had information about «any other cases in terms of investigations that may or may not have been discussed.»