Mr. Yousaf said he saw no reason for Ms. Sturgeon's “weak” refusal to remove her from the party after how she was arrested by the police investigating her finances.
The First Minister said his predecessor's arrest on Sunday was “personally painful” but he saw “no reason” for the party whip to come out as she had no charged.
He insisted that the SNP did not put “any pressure” on her to voluntarily withdraw from membership, just hours after two senior members of parliament urged her to stay on the sidelines until the furore over the party's finances “calmed down”.
But Michelle Thomson, MP for Falkirk East, argued that he should act “in accordance” with the processes used when Ms Sturgeon was leader in order to deal with MPs facing accusations of their behavior.
Ms Thomson was one of several SNP and MSP MPs suspended from the party during Ms Sturgeon's tenure as party leader and first minister, even if there was no criminal prosecution or police investigation.
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Ash Regan, who stood in the recent leadership race for Ms Sturgeon's seat, also cited “precedent” and urged Mr Yousaf to take “strong action” to defend his party and his government if she refuses to leave.
MSP SNP Ash Regan says Nicola Sturgeon will consider her position. Credit: Reuters
Scottish Tories have called him 'weak' and said he has a 'favorable attitude' towards Ms Sturgeon because she privately backed him to lead the SNP in the recent leadership contest to change it.
Jackie Bailey, Scottish Labor Party. deputy leader, said the SNP suspended four senior SNP politicians when Ms Sturgeon was leader against whom there were “perhaps less” serious allegations.
As of July 2021, Police Scotland have been looking into SNP's over £600,000 in donations raised in 2017 for the second independence referendum.
Supporters filed complaints when bills filed with Companies House in 2020 showed the SNP had just £97,000 in the bank despite the referendum never being held.
Ms Sturgeon visited the police station “by appointment” on Sunday morning, where she was arrested at 10:09 am and taken into custody. Detectives interrogated the 52-year-old man about the “funding and finances of the Scottish National Party” until 5:24 pm. first minister, arrested and released by police in Scotland Photo: Jane Barlow/PA
Police Scotland have said she has been released without charge pending further investigation and a report will be forwarded to prosecutors and the Fiscal Service.
In a statement released shortly after her release, Ms Sturgeon insisted that “ I know for sure” that she did not break the law, and claimed that “I will never do anything that would harm either the SNP or the country.”
Her arrest comes more than two months after the April 5 arrest of her husband, Peter Murrell, a former chief executive of the SNP. Like his wife, he was released without charge pending further investigation.
Officers also ransacked their home for two days, setting up a large white tent in their front garden, and a luxury motorhome was confiscated outside the house Fife. Mr. Murrell's elderly mother.
Nearly two weeks later, Colin Beatty, then SNP treasurer, was also arrested and released without charge. He resigned later that week, but neither he nor Mr. Murrell were suspended from the party.
This prompted speculation that Ms. Sturgeon could be next as the three registered The SNP officers listed on the cover of her most recent reports submitted to the Electoral Commission were herself, Mr Murrell and Mr Beatty.
Ms Sturgeon and her husband did not return to their home in Wuddington, near Glasgow , after her release and stopped elsewhere.
Angus McNeil, MP for the Western Isles, was the first SNP MP on Sunday to demand Ms. Sturgeon's suspension with the words: “This soap opera has gone far enough.”
This soap opera has gone far enough, Nicola Sturgeon has banished others from the SNP for awfully less!
It's time to keep the political distance until the investigation ends anyway. https://t.co/8tclFmrza0
— Angus B. McNeil MP🇺🇦 (@AngusMacNeilSNP) June 11, 2023
Talking about a visit to Inverness, Mr Yousaf admitted that his 'long friendship' with Ms Sturgeon meant her arrest was painful, but he had to “separate that from the really important work that I have to do as First Minister.”
He added: “I will do what I think is right, in accordance with the values of natural justice. Nicola Sturgeon, like Colin Beatty, like Peter Murrell, was released without charge. So I see no reason to suspend their membership.”
When asked if Ms Sturgeon should give up the whip, Mr Yousaf said: “There is no pressure on her from the party or me as leader SNP.”
He added: “She was released. without charge, and I consider it very important to respect the presumption of innocence.”
Asked why others, like Ms Thomson, lost the whip, he said: “Others have been released without charge, and I suggest treating Nicola Sturgeon in the same way. I cannot explain the decisions that were made before I became leader of the SNP.”
But Craig Hoy, chairman of the Scottish Conservatives, said: “These are the actions of a weak leader, unable to stand. predecessor, to whom he owes his work.
“Humza Yusaf's claim that he has 'no reason' to remove Nicola Sturgeon from the SNP is not fooling anyone. He knows, like everyone else, that there is a clear precedent in his party where MPs and MPs under investigation can be suspended until their case is completed.”
He said that Mr. Yousaf will not follow this precedent “because he is hopelessly compromised by the fact that he won the leadership election only thanks to the support of Nicola Sturgeon and her inner circle.”
Ms. Thomson was forced to leave. partying while she was MP for Edinburgh West after a lawyer associated with her real estate firm was investigated over allegations of mortgage fraud.
Ms. Sturgeon praised her for giving up the SNP whip in September 2015, saying she “did the right thing”.
However, she always denied any offences, and the Royal Office dropped the investigation for lack of evidence. She rejoined the SNP in 2018 and was elected MP for Falkirk East in the 2021 Holyrood elections.
In a statement about Ms Sturgeon's arrest, Ms Thomson said she “strongly believes in natural justice” and the presumption of innocence.
STATEMENT pic.twitter.com/MlpWJGzwi0
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) June 11, 2023
But she said, “The processes set by the SNP under her leadership , were clear. About eight years ago, when I was a deputy, I was required to give up the whip of the SNP, although personally I was never under investigation and, of course, was not arrested.
“After careful consideration, I think the right thing for the First Minister to do is to step down with the whip of the SNP. It's not because she doesn't deserve to be treated as innocent until proven guilty, but because her values need to be consistent.”
Ms Regan told BBC Radio Scotland that SNP members were “very concerned” about the latest developments in the case and instead Mr Yousaf should have been “very focused” on his government's responsibilities.
Edinburgh Eastern MSP stated: “I think Nikola may need to consider voluntarily leaving the SNP until this is clarified.”
Calling for “accountability and transparency”, she said: “I I think Nikola is no doubt considering it at the moment and I think there is a precedent in the party for people who have been involved in this type of issue to come out.”
“So it's a voluntary suspension of their membership until that can be clarified, and I think if she does that, it will confirm her commitment to the principles of the party.”
Ms. Regan noted, that there was a “precedent” for Ms Sturgeon's departure, citing Alex Salmond resigning from the SNP in August 2018 when he was trying to clear his name from allegations of sexual harassment. He was later acquitted of sexually abusing nine women while he was First Minister.
But she said Mr. Yousaf should consider removing Ms. Sturgeon from office if she refused to leave, and suggested that she may have violated the party's code of conduct, saying that “members should refrain from conduct that could harm or interfere with the party's goals.”
Should Nicola Sturgeon leave the SNP?
Ms Bailey told BBC Radio 4 Today that it was “a shocking state of affairs, though not surprising” given that Ms Sturgeon's name was on SNP accounts.
She said, “The question is in my head.” With all the chaos, with the secrecy and cover-up that has been the hallmark of the SNP, the question is whether Humza Yusuf, the current first minister, is really strong enough to remove her from office and protect the party. /p>
“I have no doubt that he should definitely do this.” She cited the treatment of Ms. Thomson and three other SNP parliamentarians as examples of how the party removed senior figures from office after unsubstantiated allegations were made.
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