Humza Yousaf was last night branded a ‘weak leader’ after he rejected widespread calls to suspend Nicola Sturgeon.
The First Minister has ignored demands, including from within his own party, to act decisively against his predecessor after her dramatic weekend arrest.
The SNP leader yesterday said he ‘sees no reason’ to suspend Ms Sturgeon as she was released without charge, and insisted there is ‘no pressure’ on her to resign from the party.
But Nationalist MSP Michelle Thomson – who was suspended from the SNP when Ms Sturgeon was in charge, despite never having been arrested – called for her to stand aside until the police investigation concludes.
Mr Yousaf said: ‘I will do what is right for the values of natural justice. Nicola Sturgeon, like Colin Beattie, like Peter Murrell, was released without charge. Therefore, I see no reason for their membership to be suspended.’
Humza Yousaf was last night branded a ‘weak leader’ after he rejected widespread calls to suspend Nicola Sturgeon
But Conservative MSP Craig Hoy said: ‘This is the action of a weak leader unable to stand up to the predecessor to whom he owes his job.’
Claiming Mr Yousaf was ‘fooling no-one’ the Scottish Tory Party chairman added: ‘He knows that there’s a clear precedent in his party for MPs and MSPs under investigation to be suspended until the conclusion of their case.
‘And, in this instance, the police probe into the SNP’s murky finances is very much ongoing. Several senior SNP figures have already said it’s wrong for Nicola Sturgeon to receive favourable treatment from the party.
‘But the reason Humza Yousaf will not follow the precedent – which was set by his predecessor when she was party leader – is because he’s hopelessly compromised by the fact he only won the leadership election thanks to the backing of Nicola Sturgeon and her inner circle.’
Ms Sturgeon’s arrest on Sunday morning is a fresh blow for Mr Yousaf, as the Police Scotland Operation Branchform investigation continues to dominate his first three months as First Minister.
She was released without charge pending further inquiries after seven hours of questioning – and issued a statement insisting that ‘I know beyond doubt that I am in fact innocent of any wrongdoing’.
Ms Sturgeon’s arrest on Sunday morning is a fresh blow for Mr Yousaf in his first three months as First Minister
Ash Regan, who was one of Mr Yousaf’s defeated leadership rivals, led the calls for action yesterday by telling BBC Good Morning Scotland: ‘Nicola should consider voluntarily resigning her SNP membership until this can be cleared up.’
She said that standing aside would reaffirm her ‘commitment to the principles of the party’.
When asked if Mr Yousaf should suspend her if Ms Sturgeon doesn’t resign, she said: ‘I think he should consider it, yes.’
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Ms Regan also appeared to suggest the former First Minister may have broken the SNP’s code of conduct, saying it states that members must ‘refrain from conduct that is likely to cause damage or hinder the party’s aims’.
She added: ‘The leadership and Humza need to really think about taking decisive action at the moment.’
Among a series of Nationalist politicians urging the party to enforce its rules was Falkirk East MSP Michelle Thomson.
The former Edinburgh West MP had her SNP membership automatically suspended in 2015 when she resigned the party whip in the Commons. Ms Thomson was compelled to resign after police launched an investigation into a solicitor she used for property transactions who faced allegations of mortgage fraud.
The case was later dropped without charges being pressed and she was able to resume her political career at Holyrood.
The MSP said: ‘The processes set by the SNP under her (Ms Sturgeon’s) leadership were clear. Some eight years ago when an MP I was required to resign the SNP whip although I was never under investigation, and was certainly not arrested.
‘After careful consideration, I feel that the right thing for the former First Minister to do is resign the SNP whip.
‘This is not because she doesn’t deserve to be treated as innocent until proven guilty – she does – but because her values should be consistent.’
SNP Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil said: ‘This soap opera has gone far enough, Nicola Sturgeon suspended others from the SNP for an awful lot less. Time for political distance until the investigation ends.’
Senior figures from other Scottish political parties including Tory leader Douglas Ross and his Labour counterpart Anas Sarwar also demanded that the Glasgow Southside MSP should be suspended.
Ms Sturgeon’s husband Mr Murrell, the ex-SNP chief executive, and the party’s former treasurer, Mr Beattie, have also previously been arrested before being released without charge as part of the police probe into SNP finances.
The investigation was launched in 2021 following complaints about the alleged misuse of a £660,000 fund raised for a future referendum campaign.
Speaking to Moray Firth Radio during an event in Inverness yesterday, Mr Yousaf admitted Ms Sturgeon’s arrest had been ‘personally quite painful’ given their long-standing friendship.
He said it has been a ‘difficult day for her and a difficult day for our party and for those that know Nicola Sturgeon’.
Asked about the approach the SNP has taken to other MPs and MSPs in the past when police probes were launched, he said: ‘I can’t account for decisions made before I was leader of the SNP.
‘You have every right to hold me to account for decisions I make as leader and I hope I’ve demonstrated consistency for each of those individuals that have been arrested and then released without charge.
‘I’ve said we don’t have to suspend their membership, we should let the process of justice, natural justice, take its course.’
On calls for his predecessor to resign, Mr Yousaf said ‘There is no pressure on her to do so from me, nor from the party. As I’ve said, she was released without charge and therefore I don’t see any reason for her to have to suspend her membership.’
