Peter Murrell released without charge after arrest of ex-SNP chief

Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell has been released without charge pending further investigation into Scottish National Party finances.

The husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon was arrested on Wednesday morning.

Mr Murrell, 58, was questioned after being taken into police custody while searches were carried out at his home and at the SNP headquarters.

Police Scotland said its inquiries were ongoing.

Mr Murrell resigned as the party's chief executive last month.

The former party chief, who had held the post since 1999, has been married to Ms Sturgeon since 2010.

A spokesperson for the former first minister said she had "no prior knowledge" of Police Scotland's action or intentions.

They added: "Ms Sturgeon will fully cooperate with Police Scotland if required, however at this time no such request has been made."

Ms Sturgeon was succeeded by Humza Yousaf last week.

The new first minister said following Mr Murrell's arrest that it was "a difficult day" for the SNP.

Mr Yousaf said his party has "fully cooperated" with police and would continue to do so.

He added that the SNP had agreed to carry out a review on governance and transparency.

Police Scotland confirmed Ms Sturgeon was at her Glasgow home when officers arrived at 07:35 to arrest her husband.

By 10:00 there were 10 uniformed officers stationed outside the couple's detached property, along with three police vehicles.

The house was sealed off with blue and white tape, while a tent was erected on the driveway. Items were brought from the house to the tent, where the BBC understands a vehicle was parked.

Police officers could be seen searching a small shed and storage box in the back garden, a police photographer took pictures and officers looked at a laptop.

Meanwhile, at least six marked police vehicles were parked outside SNP HQ and officers carrying green crates and other equipment were seen going inside.

In July 2021 Police Scotland launched a formal investigation into the SNP's finances after receiving complaints about how donations were used.

Questions had been raised about funds given to the party for use in a fresh independence referendum campaign.

Seven people made complaints and a probe was set up following talks with prosecutors.

Ms Sturgeon, then first minister and SNP leader, had insisted that she was "not concerned" about the party's finances.

She said "every penny" of cash raised in online crowdfunding campaigns would be spent on the independence drive.

According to a statement, the SNP raised a total of £666,953 through referendum-related appeals between 2017 and 2020. The party pledged to spend these funds on the independence campaign.

Questions were raised after its accounts showed it had just under £97,000 in the bank at the end of 2019, and total net assets of about £272,000.

Last year it emerged Mr Murrell gave a loan of more than £100,000 to the SNP to help it out with a "cash flow" issue after the last election.

The then SNP's chief executive loaned the party £107,620 in June 2021. The SNP had repaid about half of the money by October of that year.

At the time an SNP spokesman said the loan was a "personal contribution made by the chief executive to assist with cash flow after the Holyrood election".

He said it had been reported in the party's 2021 accounts, which were published by the Electoral Commission in August last year.

Weeks earlier, MP Douglas Chapman had resigned as party treasurer saying he had not been given the "financial information" to do the job.

Mr Murrell resigned last month after taking responsibility for misleading statements about a fall in party membership.

The number of members had fallen from the 104,000 it had two years ago to just over 72,000.