NICOLA Sturgeon has said it was a “coincidence of timing” that she announced her resignation as first minister just weeks before her husband was arrested amid a probe into the SNP’s finances.
The former SNP leader’s comment came as she spoke at the Charleston literary festival in Sussex, where she also said she had stepped down after becoming a focal point for division in Scottish politics.
In comments reported by The Telegraph, the former SNP leader said things had gotten to “the point where I thought I was part of that problem” because there was nobody in Scotland who “doesn’t have an opinion about me whether good or bad – and I’m not sure many people are indifferent”.
READ MORE: Labour see 'largest lead over SNP since 2014' in new General Election poll
She went on: “It felt as if every issue, people were coming at that issue in terms of how they thought about me – that felt true on the trans issue, it felt true on a number of issues – so I thought, well, if I take myself out of that maybe the politics, the discourse and the debate in Scotland will be a bit more healthy.
“It hasn’t quite worked out that way, but yes that is why I decided to stand down.”
She further said that the proximity between her resignation and the first arrest of her husband Peter Murrell was a “coincidence of timing”.
Sturgeon announced plans to step down as first minister on February 15, 2023.
Seven weeks later, on April 5, Murrell was arrested, questioned, and released without charge by police investigating SNP finances as part of Operation Branchform.
The SNP’s headquarters in Edinburgh and Sturgeon and Murrell’s house in Uddingston were searched by police officers on the same day.
Murrell was then arrested for a second time before being charged in connection with embezzlement on April 18, 2024.
Investigations are ongoing and a report has not yet been sent to the procurator fiscal, but earlier in May Chief Constable Jo Farrell said one should be "within weeks".
Elsewhere at the Charleston literary festival, Sturgeon said she had seen more abuse linked to gender reform than on any other issue “including Scottish independence probably, so it has been really, really difficult”.
The former first minister said she “regrets” that she did not lead Scotland to independence but insisted it would happen in the future, and a Yes vote was not “a rejection of England”.
Elsewhere, she also said there were too many young careerists in the SNP and other parties who had entered politics for “all the wrong reasons”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article