IF AMERICA sneezes Britain catches a cold is the old adage and it certainly seemed like that on Wednesday.
That was the day extraordinary events unfolded at the home of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon and husband Peter Murrell, former chief executive of the SNP.
In scenes reminiscent of those when the FBI raided disgraced ex president Donald Trump’s multi-million-dollar pad in Florida, Police Scotland turned up at the Scottish political pair’s significantly more modest home to search it for evidence of wrong doing, specifically what has happened to £600,000 raised from independence supporters for a new indy campaign.
READ MORE: Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon's garden: No evidence of police 'digging'
Extraordinary doesn’t really cover it though. Particularly when the police started searching the garden – if they were looking for the body of Alex Salmond they must have been sorely disappointed when he popped up on telly, shortly after Murrell was marched off for what seems like an excessive 12 hours of questioning during which both the interrogators and their suspect must have lost the will to live. Salmond, however, was so blown up with self righteousness that if someone stuck a pin in him you felt he could have flown round the TV studio like a burst balloon.
Meanwhile social media and the press were having a field day, especially as Sturgeon had been seen leaving the house at 8.30am shortly after her husband’s arrest.
“WHERE IS SHE GOING?” screamed Twitter.
My hope was that she was escaping the madness on a yoga break with Jacinda Ardern. Why stick around knowing the press would be tipped off and camp outside your house for the remainder of the day?
Twitter wasn’t questioning why Salmond was available for interview so quickly. Maybe he still waits by the phone for Cameron to call. Or anyone.
Still it was fascinating, especially as so many police were needed to lug a few boxes of papers out of the house which was taped off as if a gangland shootout had taken place.
SNP HQ was also searched for evidence of the “missing” £600,000 but funnily enough, despite not being released until the early evening, Murrell was released without charge.
Investigations are ongoing, although you have to pity the poor police here as there are a lot of SNP documents to go through and they probably won’t be about land or council tax reform even though those are badly needed.
Talking about the police, social media was also going bat shit crazy over why Police Scotland’s heid bummer Iain Livingstone announced his imminent early retiral just a few weeks previously. The implication was that he doesn’t approve of the current investigation.
Far be it from me to start another conspiracy theory but here’s one anyway – maybe he doesn’t like being told by British spooks how he had to handle an investigation. That’s just daft though. The British establishment would never interfere undercover to wreak a party that is setting out to end the UK. Would it?
READ MORE: Humza Yousaf hits out at 'conspiracy theories' over Peter Murrell arrest
While we’re on the subject of conspiracy theories, here’s another one Twitter was full of – that Sturgeon knew what was coming down the line and resigned as FM before the proverbial hit the fan.
Of course, it wasn’t hard to find those willing to appear on TV and say they had always said Sturgeon should have told her husband to step away from the chief exec post when she became first minister. Why there was former SNP Cabinet Secretary (and Salmond's buddy) Alex Neil on Channel 4 News later who said just that! He looked as though he was about to wet himself laughing but that could just be his “resting glee” face.
With the benefit of hindsight maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to have the FM share a bed with the chief exec of her party. Then again, any married couple will tell you that if they start to tell the other about their bad day at the office, their other half might nod in the right places but the chances are they haven’t heard a word. So yes, if Sturgeon came back after facing some of DRoss’s endless puerile queries at First Minister’s Questions it is perfectly feasible she wouldn’t be particularly keen to hear about dropping party membership numbers or indeed the party accounts.
But that won’t stop most of the media, mainstream or social, trying the ruin the global glowing reputation she has earned. They smell blood and they are on the hunt.
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