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Tag: Nicola Sturgeon

  • Nicola Sturgeon proclaims her innocence

    Nicola Sturgeon proclaims her innocence

    In her first public statement since her imprisonment, Nicola Sturgeon said she is innocent.

    On her way back to her Glasgow home today, the former first minister declared, “I’ve done nothing wrong.”

    Police enquiring about the SNP’s finances questioned her, and on June 11 they released her without charging her pending further inquiry.

    I’m sure I haven’t done anything wrong, I can’t say much right now, but I will restate the remark I made last Sunday.

    ‘I intend to be back in Parliament in the early part of the week, I’ll make myself available for questions then.

    ‘For now I intend to go home and catch up with some family.’

    Asked whether she had considered stepping back from the SNP, she said: ‘I’ve done nothing wrong and that is the only thing I’m going to assert today.’

    The then added: ‘I know I’m a public figure, I accept what comes with that, but I’m also a human being that’s entitled to a bit of privacy and my neighbours are also entitled to a bit of that as well.’

    She confirmed that no conditions had been placed on her arrest but said: ‘I’m not going to get into anything other than that’

    When asked whether she would have suspended herself, she said: ‘Look I’ve done nothing wrong, it’s for others to comment as they see fit but that’s my position.’

    Ms Sturgeon was arrested after a long-running investigation – dubbed Operation Branchform – which began in 2021.

    The inquiry is linked to the spending of around £600,000 raised by supporters to be earmarked for Scottish independence campaigning.

    It is understood there have been complaints the ringfenced cash may have been used improperly by being spent elsewhere.

    It came after her husband Peter Murrell was arrested in April. Both he and MSP Colin Beattie, who was SNP treasurer at the time, were released without charge pending further inquiry.

    At the time of Ms Sturgeon’s arrest, a spokesperson issued a statement which read: ‘Nicola Sturgeon has today, Sunday, June 11th, by arrangement with Police Scotland attended an interview where she was to be arrested and questioned in relation to Operation Branchform.

    ‘Nicola has consistently said she would co-operate with the investigation if asked and continues to do so.’

    The SNP has said it has been ‘cooperating fully’ with the investigation and would ‘continue to do so’.

  • Nicola Sturgeon, released after being detained over party finance inquiry

    Nicola Sturgeon, released after being detained over party finance inquiry

    Nicola Sturgeon, the former first minister of Scotland, was detained by the police earlier on Sunday as part of an inquiry into financial irregularities by the Scottish National Party (SNP), according to UK’s PA Media. She was later released without being charged.

    A 52-year-old woman who was detained earlier today, Sunday, June 11, 2023, as a suspect in relation to the ongoing inquiry into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party, has been released without charge pending additional investigation, Police Scotland said in an updated statement.

    The arrest had already been confirmed by a spokesman for Sturgeon, who also told PA Media that “Nicola has consistently said she would cooperate with the investigation if asked and continues to do so.”

    Sturgeon’s husband and former SNP chief executive, Peter Murrell, was arrested and released earlier this month, followed by the group’s treasurer, Colin Beattie, and officers have raided the party’s headquarters in Edinburgh.

    Sturgeon abruptly announced her resignation as first minister in February after a nine-year stint in which she became the figurehead of the movement for Scotland’s independence from the United Kingdom.

    She cited the demands of public life and the “brutality” of frontline politics for her surprise decision.

    But since standing down, the party she led for almost a decade has descended into chaos amid a widely publicized police investigation. Officers have been probing the SNP’s handling of money that was slated for Scottish independence campaigning, according to PA Media.

    The group has dominated politics north of the border for more than a decade and has pushed for a repeat of a 2014 referendum on independence, in which voters rejected the chance to split from the UK by 55% to 45%.

    Sturgeon enjoyed a series of significant electoral wins in Scotland, which has a devolved government that the SNP has led since 2007.

    But momentum behind the push for independence which Sturgeon fronted has stalled in recent months, with polling showing dips in support and the Supreme Court blocking her effort last year to unilaterally call a referendum without the backing of Westminster.

    Sturgeon was replaced as leader this year when Humza Yousaf narrowly won a bitter leadership election that exposed divisions within the party.

    The chaos and legal questions surrounding the party could put its stranglehold on Scottish politics at risk, with the pro-union Labour Party eying a resurgence in the nation.

  • Authorities “seize a luxurious camper van from the mother-in-law of Nicola Sturgeon”

    Authorities “seize a luxurious camper van from the mother-in-law of Nicola Sturgeon”

    According to reports, police have confiscated a state-of-the-art campervan valued at £110,000 while they look into fraud allegations related to the SNP’s finances.

    According to the Mail on Sunday, it was confiscated from the Fife residence of the mother of former chief executive Peter Murrell as police raided the Glasgow residence he shares with Nicola Sturgeon.

    For about £110,000, the Niesmann + Bischoff car may be sold.

    Police detained Mr. Murrell on Wednesday as they looked into the spending of about £600,000 that was intended for an independence campaign.

    Later on that day, he was released pending additional inquiry.

    As well as Mr Murrell and Ms Sturgeon’s home near Glasgow, Police Scotland officers also searched the SNP’s headquarters in Edinburgh and removed boxes of items.

    The ongoing investigation has been described by SNP president Mike Russell as the party’s biggest crisis in 50 years.

    On Saturday, Ms Sturgeon spoke publicly for the first time since her husband’s arrest, telling reporters the last few days had been ‘obviously difficult’ and insisting she would ‘fully co-operate’ with the investigation.

    Former leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) Nicola Sturgeon speaking to the media outside her home in Uddingston, Glasgow (Picture: PA)

    She said Mr Murrell is home but ‘not able to say anything’ about his arrest while the inquiry continues.

    ‘Again, that’s not necessarily a matter of choice. That’s just the nature of this,’ she added.

    The Glasgow Southside MSP said she intends to ‘get on with life and my job, as you would expect me to’.

    Earlier, it emerged that the accountancy firm which had audited the SNP’s books for more than a decade had resigned.

    Johnston Carmichael informed the party of the decision before Mr Murrell’s arrest.

    The party’s treasurer is now seeking another auditor in order to comply with Electoral Commission rules.

    Police Scotland said their investigation is ongoing.

    An SNP spokesman said: ‘It would not be appropriate to comment on any live police investigation.

    ‘The SNP has been co-operating fully with this investigation and will continue to do so.’

    Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross claimed it is ‘absurd’ for Ms Sturgeon to say her decision to step down was not connected to the police investigation.

    He told GB News on Sunday: ‘For her to somehow suggest and continue to suggest it had nothing to do with this ongoing inquiry I think is frankly absurd.

    ‘We’ve now seen the incredible sight of someone who has just been first minister inside a house when the police came to arrest her husband.

    ‘Now, obviously, that’s an ongoing live police inquiry and I can’t go much further into it but we have all seen the house being taped off.’

    He said reports of the campervan being removed are ‘incredible’ and the story is ‘deeply damaging for Scotland’.

  • Police release Nicola Sturgeon’s husband following an inquiry into SNP finances

    Police release Nicola Sturgeon’s husband following an inquiry into SNP finances

    Nicola Sturgeon claimed she was unaware of the police’s preparations to detain her husband Peter Murrell.

    Following his detention this morning, her spouse was later reported by police to have been freed “without charge.”

    After his arrest at 7:45 am, he was questioned by investigators from Police Scotland.

    At 6:57 PM, the police let him go.

    In connection with the inquiry, officers also conducted searches today at a number of homes.

    Police said a report will be sent to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

    A spokesperson for the former Scottish first minister said: ‘It would not be appropriate to comment on a live police investigation.

    Officers from Police Scotland at the headquarters of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in Edinburgh following the arrest of former chief executive Peter Murrell. Police Scotland are conducting searches at a number of properties in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the party. Picture date: Wednesday April 5, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story POLICE SNP. Photo credit should read: Jane Barlow/PA Wire
    Police raided the SNP headquarters in Edinburgh following Mr Murrell’s arrest (Picture: PA)

    ‘Nicola Sturgeon had no prior knowledge of Police Scotland’s action or intentions.

    ‘Ms Sturgeon will fully cooperate with Police Scotland if required however at this time no such request has been made.’

    Police Scotland has been investigating the spending of about £600,000 which was intended for Scottish independence campaigning.

    It is understood there have been complaints the cash has been used improperly by being spent elsewhere.

    A spokesperson earlier said: ‘A 58-year-old man has today, Wednesday, 5 April 2023, been arrested as a suspect with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party.

    ‘The man is in custody and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives.

    ‘Officers are also carrying out searches at a number of addresses as part of the investigation.

  • Husband of Nicola Sturgeon detained during the SNP financial probe

    Husband of Nicola Sturgeon detained during the SNP financial probe

    In connection with a financial inquiry into the Scottish National Party, Nicola Sturgeon‘s husband was detained.

    A 58-year-old man has been “arrested as a suspect,” according to Police Scotland.

    According to reports, Peter Murrell, 58, the former leader of the ruling pro-independence party, was arrested this morning.

    Officers are conducting searches at “a number of properties as part of the inquiry,” the national police organization added.

    Police Scotland said: ‘A 58-year-old man has today, Wednesday, 5 April 2023, been arrested as a suspect with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party.

    ‘The man is in custody and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives.

    ‘Officers are also carrying out searches at a number of addresses as part of the investigation.

    ‘A report will be sent to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

    ‘The matter is 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.

    ‘As the investigation is ongoing we are unable to comment further.’

    An SNP spokesperson said: ‘Clearly it would not be appropriate to comment on any live police investigation but the SNP have been cooperating fully with this investigation and will continue to do so.

    ‘At its meeting on Saturday, the governing body of the SNP, the NEC, agreed to a review of governance and transparency – that will be taken forward in the coming weeks.’

    The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.

    The police probe is looking at what happened to more than £600,000 raised by independence campaigners in 2017, intended to be ‘ring-fenced’ for a second referendum.

    But the cash was ‘missing’ from the SNP’s filed books at the end of 2019 when no referendum had been held. It is alleged the fundraised money was used to help with the party’s day-to-day running costs.

    Mr Murrell stepped down as the party’s chief executive last month after two decades amid a scuffle over the SNP’s membership numbers.

    The part lost 30,000 members in a single year, plummeting from 103,884 in 2021 to 72,186 as of this February.

    Ms Sturgeon resigned only weeks before last the leader of Scotland’s government after eight years, saying the time was right to ‘make way for someone else’.

  • Ex-Scottish minister, Nicola Sturgeon’s husband arrested in relation with SNP funding and finances probing

    Ex-Scottish minister, Nicola Sturgeon’s husband arrested in relation with SNP funding and finances probing

    Peter Murrell, the husband of Nicola Sturgeon, according to reports has been detained in connection with an investigation into the funding and assets of the Scottish National Party (SNP).

    Detectives are questioning the former SNP chief executive while he is being held in custody.

    A 58-year-old man was reportedly detained as part of an ongoing investigation, according to Police Scotland.

    Officers are also carrying out searches at a number of addresses, the force added.

    Police Scotland has been investigating the spending of money which was earmarked for Scottish independence campaigning.

    The SNP said in a statement: “Clearly it would not be appropriate to comment on any live police investigation but the SNP have been co-operating fully with this investigation and will continue to do so.

    “At its meeting on Saturday, the governing body of the SNP, the NEC, agreed to a review of governance and transparency – that will be taken forward in the coming weeks.”

    A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “COPFS will continue to work with police in this ongoing investigation.

    “It is standard practice that any case regarding politicians is dealt with by prosecutors without the involvement of the Law Officers.”

    It comes less than a week after Humza Yousaf was legally sworn in as Scotland’s sixth first minister – replacing Ms Sturgeon after her shock resignation in February.

    Mr Murrell, who married Ms Sturgeon in 2010, stepped down as SNP chief executive during the recent leadership campaign.

  • Nicola Sturgeon mocks online rumors of an affair with a French ambassador

    Nicola Sturgeon mocks online rumors of an affair with a French ambassador

    The former first minister of Scotland has denied some of the most absurd rumors she has read online, claiming that she resigned because she wanted more privacy.

    Nicola Sturgeon, who has been married to Peter Murrell, a former head of the SNP, for 13 years, has denied allegations that she is a “hidden lesbian.”

    Furthermore, she dismissed rumors that she had an extramarital connection with a female French diplomat with a chuckle.

    The rumour mill had claimed the pair bought a house from tennis star Sir Andy Murray’s mother Judy as a love nest.

    Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon announces resignation after eight years

    In the past, the internet has also alleged that she has a global property portfolio and a super injunction in place to hide the truth.

    Speaking to a BBC Scotland podcast, Ms Sturgeon said online gossip about her had been ‘part of the reason’ behind her decision to call it a day.

    ‘I read accounts of my life on social media and I think, “You know, it is so much more glamorous sounding and so much more exciting”‘, she said.

    ‘I’m not naive, I’m not of the view that I will step down one day and be completely anonymous the next day, I understand the realities of what I have done and I’ll still be in parliament, but I want to have a bit more privacy.

    ‘I want to have a bit more anonymity and I just want to protect some of what people take for granted in their lives that I’ve forgotten to have.’

    Ms Sturgeon’s shock resignation as leader of the SNP in February led to speculation about the reasons behind her decision.

    Some suggested the ongoing debate about self-identification laws for transgender people was the final straw.

    The British government blocked the ‘self-ID’ law from taking effect, marking the first time it has invoked the power to veto Scottish law.

    Ms Sturgeon said she would fight the decision, saying trans people were being ‘weaponised’ in politics, but she insisted her departure was ‘not a reaction to short-term pressures’.

    At a press conference, she said she no longer felt she could give the job of first minister everything it deserves, and had a duty to say so.

    ‘If the only question was “can I battle on for another few months?”, then the answer is yes, of course I can’, she said.

    ‘But if the question is, “can I give this job everything it demands and deserves for another year, let alone for the remainder of this parliamentary term – give it every ounce of energy that it needs in the way that I have strived to do every day for the past eight years?” – the answer honestly is different.’

    She previously cited the funeral of independence activist Allan Angus as the moment which cemented her decision.

    She was replaced as first minister this week by Humza Yousaf, the first Scottish Asian and Muslim man to hold the role.

  • Nicola Sturgeon to resign as Scotland’s first minister, after 8 years in power

    Nicola Sturgeon to resign as Scotland’s first minister, after 8 years in power

    A hastily planned news conference in Edinburgh is expected to feature the Scottish National Party’s leader making the announcement.

    The precise date of her departure from the position is unknown.

    After the independence referendum, Ms. Sturgeon succeeded Alex Salmond as first minister in November 2014.

    She later became the nation’s first and longest-serving minister.

  • NHS Scotland receives new pay offer

    NHS Scotland health workers threatened with strike have received an improved pay offer averaging 7.5%.

    Unions will now consider the Scottish government’s £515 million deal.

    Before this latest proposal, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Health Secretary Humza Yousaf held “extensive” talks.

    Unite and GMB have suspended ambulance workers’ strike and confirmed that the offer will be put to a vote among members.

    Unite members from the Scottish Ambulance Service planned a work-to-rule on Friday, while 1,700 GMB members planned a 26-hour strike on Monday.

    The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) and Unison had also backed strike action in the ongoing pay dispute.

    The RCN, which had delayed a formal announcement on strikes while negotiations took place this week, confirmed that its board members would consider the detail of the latest offer.

    Unison has recommended that members accept the deal.

    The Scottish government said it was a “record high pay offer” for front line workers.

    Annual pay rises under the latest deal would range from a flat rate payment of £2,205 for staff in Bands 1 to 4 and up to £2,660 for staff in Bands 5 to 7, backdated to April.

    This represents an increase of 11.3% for the lowest paid workers and delivers an average uplift of 7.5%, a government spokesperson said.

    The new offer also included a review into reducing the working week from 37.5 hours to 36 hours with no loss of pay.

    Mr Yousaf said no stone had been left unturned to reach its “best and final pay offer”.

    He said: “We have made the best offer possible to get money into the pockets of hard working staff and to avoid industrial action, in what is already going to be an incredibly challenging winter.”

    Wilma Brown, from Unison, said she recognised that the new package was the best that could have been negotiated.

    She told the BBC: “The new package demonstrates that we are concerned about everybody’s take-home pay these days and the professional groups have lost out a lot of money over the years during austerity and various other reasons and that this goes some way to starting to make that up.

    “Is it enough? No, we would have wanted more, but we believe that this is the best deal that we will get through negotiation.”

    Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland senior organiser, said staff needed to be valued to “tackle the chronic understaffing crisis across NHS frontline services” after a decade of cuts and the Covid pandemic.

    “The reality is this offer remains below inflation for the vast majority of staff, but it requires our members consultation given the additional monies tabled by the government,” he added.

  • Indyref2 cannot go ahead without UK parliament permission, court rules

    The decision from the UK‘s top judges was unanimous, but Nicola Sturgeon vows to fight on for “the basic democratic right” to chose Scotland’s future.

    The Scottish Parliament does not have the power to call a second independence referendum in the country, the Supreme Court has said.

    The unanimous ruling from the UK’s top judges said, despite demands from the SNP for a fresh vote, the country’s government would need approval from the government in Westminster before going ahead.

    First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had proposed a second referendum – dubbed Indyref2 – for 19 October 2023.

    But she had also warned she would use the next general election as an informal referendum if the court ruled against her plan.

    Speaking from Edinburgh in the hours after the ruling, Ms Sturgeon said she accepted the judgement, and the issue was not with judges interpreting it, but the law itself.

    “Until now it has been understood by opponents of independence, as well as by its supporters, that the UK is a voluntary partnership of nations,” she said.

    “[But] let us be blunt. A so-called partnership in which one partner is denied the right to choose a different future, or even to ask itself question cannot be described in any way as voluntary or even partnership at all.

    “So this ruling confirms that the notion of the UK, a voluntary partnership of nations, if it ever was a reality, is no longer a reality, and that it exposes a situation that is quite simply unsustainable.”

    The first minister said the option “remains open” to the UK government to “accept democracy and reach an agreement” over how to hold a second referendum.

    But if not, she pledged “not to give up on democracy” and use the next general election to ask the question, with a special party conference in the new year to agree the detail.

    “This is no longer just about whether or not Scotland becomes independent, vital though that decision is,” said Ms Sturgeon. It is more fundamental.

    “It is now about whether or not we even have the basic democratic right to choose own future. Indeed, from today, the independence movement is as much democracy as it is about independence.”

    However, Speaking in the Commons, Scotland Secretary Alister Jack said the government welcomed the ruling, and called on the Scottish government “to set aside these divisive constitutional issues so that we can work together, focusing all of our attention and resources on the key issues that matter the people of Scotland”.

    He added: “When we work together as one United Kingdom, we are safer, stronger and more prosperous.”

    ‘Political consequences’

    Scotland held an independence referendum in 2014 and just over 55% voted to remain part of the UK.

    But the pro-independence SNP, which has led the country since 2007, believes it has a mandate to hold a fresh vote because of its continued success in elections – the majority of members in the Scottish Parliament back independence – and because of the change in circumstances since Brexit.

    Ms Sturgeon began her attempts to get approval for a new referendum in 2017 by asking then-prime minister Theresa May for a Section 30 order, which is used to increase or restrict, permanently or temporarily, the Scottish Parliament’s legislative authority – and was used to temporarily legislate for the first referendum.

    But she and subsequent UK PMs have refused, leading to today’s court case on whether the Scottish Parliament could pass a bill to hold a referendum without the nod from Westminster.

    Announcing the ruling, the court’s president, Lord Reed, said legislation for a second vote would relate to “reserved matters”, making it outside the powers of Holyrood.

    “A lawfully-held referendum would have important political consequences in relation to the Union and the United Kingdom Parliament,” he said.

    “It would either strengthen or weaken the democratic legitimacy of the Union and of the United Kingdom Parliament’s sovereignty over Scotland, depending on which view prevailed, and would either support or undermine the democratic credentials of the independence movement.

    “It is therefore clear that the proposed bill has more than a loose or consequential connection with the reserved matters of the Union of Scotland and England, and the sovereignty of the United Kingdom Parliament.”

    Source: Skynews.com 

  • Scotland’s first minister congratulates Sunak and presses for independence

    Sunak won the Conservative Party leadership election, and Scotland’s first minister has congratulated him, saying she will do her best “to build a constructive working relationship with him in the interests of those we serve,” but she has also renewed calls for Scottish independence.

    “That he becomes the first British Asian to become PM is a genuinely significant moment,” Nicola Sturgeon tweeted.

    “As for the politics, I’d suggest one immediate decision he should take and one he certainly should not. He should call an early General Election. And he should not – must not – unleash another round of austerity. Our public services will not withstand that,” she said.

    “For Scotland, of course, he becomes another PM we did not and, without doubt, would not vote for even if given the chance. To escape the damage of Westminster governments with no mandate here, and take our future into our own hands, Scotland needs independence.”

     

  • Sturgeon describes UK politics as “badly broken” as she reveals plans for an independent Scotland

    As she laid out her plans for an independent Scotland today, Nicola Sturgeon claimed Prime Minister Liz Truss’ decision not to tender her resignation demonstrates how “badly broken” UK politics is.

    Following the chancellor’s emergency statement today, the first minister said that if she had given in to demands made by Tories and commentators on the day of the mini budget to match the UK government’s tax plans she too “would be dealing with something of a financial disaster.”

    She said: “It will also be galling, I think, that the one measure that the prime minister has repeatedly cited to effectively justify the market turmoil of recent weeks, the energy price cap has also been curtailed, leaving many people and possibly many businesses without the support with energy bills that they were expecting.”

    Launching her economic prospectus paper on Scottish independence, Ms Sturgeon said a “fairer, more sustainable economy was more possible for Scotland with independence than it ever will be with continued Westminster control”.

    She said: “In 2014, the choice before the Scottish people was framed by Westminster parties as the strength and stability of the UK on the one hand and the uncertainty of independence on the other.  The reality in the years since has been very different.

    “It is glaringly obvious now that the UK does not offer economic strength and stability or financial security.”

    Setting out some of her plans, Ms Sturgeon said she would create an independent Scottish central bank and confirmed that the policy of the Scottish government was to establish a Scottish pound.

    “We would seek to do this as soon as practicable. The precise timing would be determined not by a fixed timetable, but by a set of objective requirements and criteria guided by advice from the central bank and subject to a decision by parliament in the overall interests of the country.”