Husband of former Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon released

Former Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s husband, Peter Murrell, was released on Wednesday night without charge after several hours of detention in connection with an investigation into the finances of the Scottish National Party (SNP), police said.

The police statement also indicated that the agents conducted searches at “various addresses as part of the investigation” and that a report would be prepared to be sent to the Department of Public Administration.

Sturgeon announced her resignation last February as prime minister and leader of the SNP, and was replaced by Humza Yousaf last week after internal elections.

The former independent leader, who has retained her seat in Holyrood (Edinburgh) Parliament, “would cooperate fully with Police Scotland if necessary, although no requests have been made to date,” her door-to-door voice said on Wednesday.

After the arrest, the party issued a statement saying that it “would be inappropriate” to comment on any ongoing police investigation, but added that it “cooperates fully with this investigation and will continue to do so.”

Peter Murrell resigned as the party’s chief executive last month after claiming responsibility for misinformation about the number of SNP fighters who lost 30,000 in a year.

The resignation, after more than 20 years in office, came during an internal party election initiated by Nicola Sturgeon, who cited the “physical and psychological abuse” she had endured during her eight years as head of the regional government.

The fact that the leader’s husband was the chief executive of the SNP was criticized during the campaign and gave rise to rumors of impropriety and embezzlement.