Who Is Nicola Sturgeon? Scotland's Former First Minister Arrested

Scotland's former first minister Nicola Sturgeon was arrested in connection with the investigation into Scottish National Party's (SNP) alleged financial misconduct on Sunday, June 11.

Sturgeon was questioned by the detectives and was released without charge. She released a statement saying that she knew that she was "innocent of any wrongdoing".

The police were investigating what happened to 660,000 pounds of donations that were given to SNP for use in a future independence referendum campaign.

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Nicola Sturgeon Arrested

Nicola Sturgeon's spokesperson confirmed that the former first minister was arrested and questioned by the police. The politician's husband Peter Murrel, the former chief executive of the SNP was arrested at their home. Murrel was also released without charge.

Member of Scottish Parliament (MSP) and then-SNP treasurer Colin Beattie was arrested and questioned as part of the same investigation in April. Beattie was also released without charge pending further investigation.

After being released, Sturgeon released a statement saying that she found herself in that situation when she had "committed no offence" is a "shock and deeply distressing".

She also thanked people for the messages of support for her and her family.

Earlier, Sturgeon had repeatedly stated she did not know of any wrongdoing with SNP's finances and said the donations were dealt with in the correct manner.

Who Is Nicola Sturgeon?

The Scottish politician Nicola Sturgeon served as the First Minister of Scotland from 2014 to 2023.

She was elected as SNP leader and was then appointed as the first minister, making her the first woman to hold either position.

Sturgeon is the only first minister to serve and third term and in February 2023, she announced that she would resign as first minister and SNP leader. She spoke about the job taking "its toll" and made her final appearance as Scotland's first minister in March. Sturgeon was succeeded by Humza Yousaf.

Nicola Sturgeon was Scotland's longest-serving first minister.