Humza Yousaf REFUSES to suspend Nicola Sturgeon from the SNP following her arrest

Humza Yousaf today defied calls to suspend Nicola Sturgeon from the SNP following her dramatic arrest as part of the police probe into the party’s finances.

The First Minister insisted there was ‘no reason’ to take action against his predecessor, who was released without charge after almost seven hours in custody yesterday.

Mr Yousaf admitted the news of Ms Sturgeon’s arrest was ‘painful’ for him due to their ‘long-standing friendship’.

But he refused to heed the calls of senior SNP colleagues and opposition parties who are demanding Ms Sturgeon’s suspension.

The SNP leader said he would treat Ms Sturgeon ‘in the same way’ he had treated the SNP’s former treasurer, Colin Beattie, who was arrested as part of Police Scotland’s Operation Branchform in April.

He told BBC Scotland: ‘I’ll not suspend Nicola’s membership. I’ll treat her in the same way I’ve treated, for example, Colin Beattie.

‘Those that have been released without charge I see no reason to suspend their membership.’

Ms Sturgeon – who has insisted she is ‘innocent of any wrongdoing’ – yesterday became the third high-profile SNP figure to be detained in connection with alleged irregularities in the party’s finances. 

Her husband Peter Murrell, the SNP’s former chief executive, has also been arrested and released pending further inquiries.  

Asked if Ms Sturgeon should voluntarily resign her party’s whip, Mr Yousaf said: ‘There’s no pressure on her to do so from the party or from me as leader of the SNP.’

He added: ‘She has been released without charge and I think it is so important that presumption of innocence is upheld.’

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said Mr Yousaf’s refusal to suspend Ms Sturgeon was ‘the action of a weak leader unable to stand up to the predecessor to whom he owes his job’.

‘Humza Yousaf’s claim that he has “no reason” to suspend Nicola Sturgeon from the SNP is fooling no one,’ Mr Hoy, an MSP for South Scotland, added.

‘He knows, as everyone else does, 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 by 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 that he only won the leadership election thanks to the backing of Nicola Sturgeon and her inner circle.’

After being released from custody just after 5pm last night, Ms Sturgeon – who is still an MSP – tweeted her ‘shock’ and ‘distress’ at the situation.

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She said: ‘To find myself in the situation I did today when I am certain I have committed no offence is both a shock and deeply distressing.

‘I know that this ongoing investigation is difficult for people, and I am grateful that so many continue to show faith in me and appreciate that I would never do anything to harm either the SNP or the country.’

Ms Sturgeon went on to say that she was ‘innocent of any wrongdoing,’ adding: ‘Obviously, given the nature of this process, I cannot go into detail.

‘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.’

Ms Sturgeon thanked her family and friends for giving her ‘much-needed strength’ at this time and said she would take a ‘day or two’ to process the latest development.

‘Finally, while I will take a day or two to process this latest development, I intend to be back in Parliament soon where I will continue to represent my Glasgow Southside constituents to the very best of my ability,’ she added.

However, senior SNP figures have been joining other parties in calling for Ms Sturgeon to be suspended from the party.

Michelle Thomson said it would be ‘the right thing’ for Ms Sturgeon to resign the SNP whip in the Scottish Parliament.

The MSP for Falkirk East referred to how she herself – when Ms Sturgeon was party leader – had resigned the SNP whip in 2015 when police began an investigation into a fraud case, which was later dropped.

Ms Thomson said the ‘processes set by the SNP’ under Ms Sturgeon’s leadership of the party were ‘clear’.

‘Some eight years ago when an MP, I was required to resign the SNP whip although I was never personally under investigation and was certainly not arrested,’ she added.

‘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.’

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland, former SNP leadership contender Ash Regan said: ‘The Government needs to be completely focused on delivering public services and delivering for the people of Scotland in these difficult times.’

She said the probe into the party’s finances could be a ‘distraction’, adding: ‘I think that Nicola should perhaps consider voluntarily resigning her SNP membership until this can be cleared up.’

Ms Regan, speaking to Sky News later, also suggested Ms Sturgeon was causing ‘damage’ to the SNP with her continued membership of the party.

‘The SNP has a code of conduct. One of the parts of that is members should be very careful with their conduct that they don’t cause damage to the party,’ she said.

‘My view is Nicola should be considering whether it would be the right thing to do for her commitment to the party and also for the smooth running of the government… for her to resign her party membership.’

SNP MP Angus MacNeil tweeted: ‘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 either way.’

Scottish Conservatives chairman Craig Hoy said: ‘Nicola Sturgeon and other senior SNP figures – including Humza Yousaf – must co-operate fully with this police investigation and commit to full transparency surrounding it.

‘The SNP continue to be engulfed in murkiness and chaos. Humza Yousaf must now show some leadership and suspend his predecessor from the SNP.’

Police opened an investigation into the SNP’s finances in July 2021 after allegations that £600,000 raised for a potential independence referendum campaign had been diverted elsewhere.

Concerns had first been raised by the former party treasurer, Douglas Chapman MP, who resigned from the role, claiming he did not have enough information to do the job.

SNP accounts from August 2021 showed the money was ‘earmarked’ through internal processes, though they did not officially record a separate sum.

It later emerged former Mr Murrell – Ms Sturgeon’s husband – had lent the party £100,000 in June 2021 to help with a ‘cash flow’ problem.

Mr Murrell and Colin Beattie MSP, former party treasurer, were arrested and released without charge pending further investigation, in April.

The home shared by Mr Murrell and Ms Sturgeon was one of the addresses raided by police alongside the party’s Edinburgh office.

There was no police presence at the property in Uddingston yesterday but a police vehicle occasionally drove past the house.

Members of the media were gathered outside the detached property, which appeared to be empty.