Scotland’s former first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, pulled out of her first public engagement since her husband was arrested in a probe into Scottish National Party finances, as police continued a search of the couple’s home in Glasgow.
(Bloomberg) — Scotland’s former first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, pulled out of her first public engagement since her husband was arrested in a probe into Scottish National Party finances, as police continued a search of the couple’s home in Glasgow.
Sturgeon, 52, had been expected to take part in a climate change event at the Edinburgh Science Festival on Thursday evening, but will be replaced by Net Zero and Just Transition Secretary Mairi McAllan, the SNP said on Thursday in a statement.
“In order to keep the focus of this event on the critical issue of the climate emergency and ambassador Patricia Espinosa’s contribution, Nicola Sturgeon has made the decision not to participate this evening,” a spokesperson for the former Scottish leader said in an emailed response to questions. Espinosa served as the UN’s top climate diplomat until last year.
Scottish police yesterday arrested Peter Murrell, 58, who’s been married to Sturgeon since 2010, as part of an investigation into whether £600,000 ($750,000) of donations to the SNP for independence campaigning were used for other purposes. He was released without charge pending further investigation after 11 hours in custody.
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