Current:Home > InvestFormer Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon released after arrest amid financial probe-LoTradeCoin
Former Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon released after arrest amid financial probe
View Date:2024-12-24 00:24:34
Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who dominated politics in Scotland for years, was arrested and questioned for several hours Sunday by police investigating the finances of the governing, pro-independence Scottish National Party.
Police Scotland said a 52-year-old woman was detained "as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party."
She was "released without charge pending further investigation" about six hours later, the force said. British police do not identify suspects until they are charged.
Sturgeon said after her release that her arrest had been "both a shock and deeply distressing."
"Obviously, given the nature of this process, I cannot go into detail," she said in a statement on social media. "However, I do wish to say this, and to do so in the strongest possible terms. 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."
A spokesman for Sturgeon confirmed to BBC News that she was cooperating with the investigation.
"Nicola Sturgeon has today, Sunday 11 June, by arrangement with Police Scotland, attended an interview where she was to be arrested and questioned in relation to Operation Branchform," the spokesman told BBC News. "Nicola has consistently said she would cooperate with the investigation if asked and continues to do so."
The party did not immediately comment.
Scottish police have been investigating how 600,000 pounds ($745,000) designated for a Scottish independence campaign was spent.
Party treasurer Colin Beattie and former chief executive Peter Murrell were arrested previously and questioned as part of the investigation. Neither has been charged.
Murrell is Sturgeon's husband, and police searched the couple's home in Glasgow after his arrest in April.
Sturgeon unexpectedly resigned in February after eight years as Scottish National Party leader and first minister of Scotland's semi-autonomous government. She said that it was the right time for her, her party and her country to make way for someone else.
But it was only within a month of her last day on March 28 that the two-year investigation into SNP's finances came into public view, according to the BBC.
Sturgeon left office amid divisions in the SNP and with her main goal — independence from the U.K. for the nation of 5.5 million people — unmet.
Scottish voters backed remaining in the U.K. in a 2014 referendum that was billed as a once-in-a-generation decision. The party wants a new vote, but the U.K. Supreme Court has ruled that Scotland can't hold one without London's consent. The central government has refused to authorize another referendum.
Sturgeon's departure unleashed a tussle for the future of the SNP amid recriminations over the party's declining membership and divisions about the best path towards independence.
- In:
- Scotland
veryGood! (847)
Related
- Tony Hinchcliffe refuses to apologize after calling Puerto Rico 'garbage' at Trump rally
- Dolphins place Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve after latest concussion, AP source says
- Tearful Kristin Cavallari Reacts to Her and Jay Cutler's 12-Year-Old Son Getting Tackled in Football Game
- Scroll Through TikTok Star Remi Bader’s Advice for Finding Your Happiness
- Louisville officials mourn victims of 'unthinkable' plant explosion amid investigation
- 23andMe agrees to $30 million settlement over data breach that affected 6.9 million users
- Sean Diddy Combs Arrested in New York
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs arrested in New York following sex trafficking investigation
- California teen pleads guilty in Florida to making hundreds of ‘swatting’ calls across the US
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's crossword, You've Come to the Right Place
Ranking
- Engines on 1.4 million Honda vehicles might fail, so US regulators open an investigation
- JoJo Siwa Says New Girlfriend Dakayla Wilson Is “On Board” With Future Baby Plans
- Cult leaders convicted of forcing children to work 16-hour days without pay
- Olympic Gymnast Jordan Chiles Files Appeal Over Bronze Medal Ruling
- Nearly 80,000 pounds of Costco butter recalled for missing 'Contains Milk statement': FDA
- An 8-Year-Old Stole Her Mom's Car for a Joyride to Target—Then Won Over the Internet
- Former Eagles player Jason Kelce brings star power to ESPN's MNF coverage
- Gilmore Girls Star Kelly Bishop Reveals Which Love Interests She'd Pick for Lorelai and Rory
Recommendation
-
1 monkey captured, 42 monkeys still on the loose after escaping research facility in SC
-
Kiehl's Secret Sale: The Insider Trick to Getting 30% Off Skincare Staples
-
Instagram introduces teen accounts, other sweeping changes to boost child safety online
-
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is expected in court after New York indictment
-
Francesca Farago Details Health Complications That Led to Emergency C-Section of Twins
-
Trump will soon be able to sell shares in Truth Social’s parent company. What’s at stake?
-
San Francisco 49ers WR Deebo Samuel to miss a couple weeks with calf injury
-
Gilmore Girls Star Kelly Bishop Reveals Which Love Interests She'd Pick for Lorelai and Rory