Former Scottish leader Sturgeon's husband re-arrested in party finance probe -BBC

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her husband, SNP Chief Executive Peter Murrell, arrive to attend the National Service of Thanksgiving held at St Paul’s Cathedral, during Britain’s Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, in London, Britain, June 3, 2022 Daniel Leal/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) -Police have re-arrested Peter Murrell, the husband of former Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon, in an ongoing investigation into the finances of her pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP), the BBC and other media reported on Thursday.

A van is driven, as Police officers stand outside the house of Peter Murrell, the former SNP Chief Executive and husband to former Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, April 6, 2023. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne/File Photo

Police Scotland said, without naming Murrell, that a 59-year-old man was being questioned after being re-arrested in the SNP investigation.

A spokesperson for the SNP declined comment, saying it would inappropriate “at this stage”.

Sturgeon, who served as Scotland’s First Minister from 2014 until her resignation in February last year, was also arrested last year as part of the same probe and then released without charge. She has denied any wrongdoing.

The investigation is looking at what happened to more than 600,000 pounds ($754,140) in funding raised by Scottish independence campaigners in 2017 which was supposed to have been ring-fenced, but may have been used for other purposes.

Murrell, who was formerly the SNP’s chief executive, was previously arrested in April last year.

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Rosalba O’Brien)