Sunday, October 29, 2023

Peter Murrell, Husband of Nicola Sturgeon, Released Without Charge Following Arrest

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Peter Murrell

Peter Murrell, the husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, was arrested on Wednesday morning by Police Scotland and released without charge later that evening. The police had searched their Glasgow home and SNP headquarters as part of their investigation into the party’s finances.

Ms Sturgeon said she had “no prior knowledge” of Police Scotland’s plans and a spokesperson for the former first minister said she was not warned about their “action or intentions” before the arrest. Police activity continued at the Glasgow home of Mr Murrell and Ms Sturgeon on Wednesday evening.

The arrest was part of an investigation launched in July 2021 after complaints were raised about how donations were used for a fresh independence referendum campaign. Questions had been raised about funds given to the party for use in the campaign and the SNP had pledged to spend these funds on the independence drive.

The release of Peter Murrell without charge isn’t the end of this matter. The results of the investigation will be sent to prosecutors who’ll decide what happens next. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service will have to be satisfied that there’s sufficient admissible evidence to justify a prosecution. They’ll consider whether there’s enough to show a crime was committed and the suspect was responsible, as well as taking the public interest into account.

If they feel that there’s insufficient evidence, they can instruct the police to carry out further inquiries. After that, if the Fiscal still isn’t satisfied that there’s enough to take it to court, the case would go no further. It is likely that this process will take some time.

The arrest of Peter Murrell, husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, by Police Scotland on Wednesday morning has caused a stir in Scotland. He was released without charge later that evening, with police having searched their Glasgow home and SNP headquarters as part of their investigation into party finances.

Ms Sturgeon said she had no prior knowledge of Police Scotland’s plans and a spokesperson for her said she was not warned about their action or intentions beforehand. Officers continued their activity at the Glasgow home of Mr Murrell and Ms Sturgeon on Wednesday evening.

The investigation was launched in July 2021 after complaints were made about how donations were used for a fresh independence referendum campaign. The SNP had pledged to spend these funds on the independence drive and questions were raised about its finances when it emerged Mr Murrell had loaned them over £100,000 to help with cash flow issues.

The results of the investigation will now be sent to prosecutors who will decide what happens next. They will have to be satisfied that there’s sufficient admissible evidence to justify a prosecution and consider whether there’s enough to show a crime was committed and the suspect was responsible, as well as taking the public interest into account.

If prosecutors feel that there’s insufficient evidence, they can instruct the police to carry out further inquiries. After that, if they still aren’t satisfied that there’s enough to take it to court, the case would go no further. It is likely that this process will take some time before a conclusion is reached.

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