Nicola Sturgeon has strongly refuted allegations that she suppressed concerns about the Scottish National Party's finances during her leadership, stating that many claims made about her are "not true" and promising further revelations now that she is "able to speak".
Embezzlement Admission by Ex-Husband
Her comments follow the admission by her estranged husband, Peter Murrell, the SNP’s former chief executive, that he embezzled over £400,000 from the party across a 12-year period. Sturgeon clarified that her 2021 remarks, which critics cited as evidence of her cautioning about financial issues, were related to a police investigation into funds for a second independence referendum, not embezzlement, which she claims she only became aware of in 2023.
Exoneration and Betrayal
She revealed that she has been "completely cleared and exonerated" by police, stating she was misled, deceived, and lied to by Murrell, and expressed deep personal pain over the betrayal. The former first minister conceded that retaining her then-husband as chief executive was a "misjudgement" in hindsight, but maintained that she should not be held responsible for his crimes.
In full, Sturgeon denies silencing SNP figures who raised doubts over finances.
