The husband of former Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon, who has just left his post as Prime Minister, has been arrested in connection with an investigation into the finances of their party, the SNP, British media reported on Wednesday. Police Scotland announced the arrest of a 58-year-old man on Wednesday, along with searches. According to the BBC and the PA agency, it is Peter Murrell, husband of Nicola Sturgeon.
He was until mid-March director general of the Scottish National Party and had then resigned from these functions in the midst of a controversy over the number of members of the formation, in the midst of an internal campaign to appoint a new leader. Nicola Sturgeon, after eight years at the head of Scotland and a total of 15 years in positions of responsibility in the local executive, announced his resignation in mid-February to everyone’s surprise, explaining that he lacked energy.
The independence project in the hard
The departure of the charismatic leader, who carried the independence fight with determination, weakened the party, which emerged divided from the internal campaign which resulted in the appointment as Prime Minister of Humza Yousaf, 37, last week. The leader, the first of the Muslim faith at the head of one of the constituent nations of the United Kingdom, is considered to embody continuity after Nicola Sturgeon, with a progressive line on societal issues and left economically. But he won only 52% of the votes against the more conservative Kate Forbes.
This transition at the head of Scotland comes as the fight for independence, a time revived by Brexit and the unpopularity of successive Conservative governments in London, seems to have reached an impasse. The Supreme Court has rejected Edinburgh’s desire to hold a new referendum without London’s agreement, after the vote that resulted in the “no” victory in 2014.