Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was released on Sunday six hours after being arrested during an investigation into the finances of the ruling Scottish National Party.
She was questioned for several hours by Police Scotland, who said the 52-year-old woman had been detained “as a suspect in connection with an ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party”.
Sturgeon was “released without charge pending further investigation” about six hours later, police said.
She said after her release that the arrest was “shocking and deeply disturbing”.
“I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am innocent, I have done nothing illegal,” Sturgeon said on Twitter.
Police Scotland is investigating how £600,000 ($745,000) earmarked for the Scottish independence campaign was spent.
Party treasurer Colin Beattie and chief executive Peter Murrell were previously arrested and questioned as part of the investigation, but neither has been charged.
Marel is Sturgeon’s husband, and police searched the couple’s home in Glasgow following his arrest in April.
It is very unusual for the leader or former leader of a political party in the UK to be arrested.
The most recent such case involved Scottish nationalist Sturgeon’s predecessor, Alex Salmond, who was arrested in 2019 and charged with a range of sexual offences, including attempted rape. He was acquitted of all 13 charges following a trial in January 2020.
Sturgeon unexpectedly resigned in February after eight years as party leader and first minister of Scotland’s semi-autonomous government.
She then stated that it is the right time for her, her party and her country to give way to someone else.
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