‘I’ve done nothing wrong’: Nicola Sturgeon returns home for first time after arrest

Sturgeon was released without charge, pending further investigation, after being arrested over an inquiry into SNP finances, Scotland Correspondent Peter Smith reports

Nicola Sturgeon has told reporters “I’ve done nothing wrong” as she returned home for the first time following her arrest last Sunday.

Scotland’s former first minister was questioned by police in connection with the inquiry into the SNP’s finances and was released without charge on June 11 pending further investigation.

Ms Sturgeon was the third person to be arrested as Police Scotland look into how more than £600,000 in donations to the party earmarked for an independence referendum has been used.

Her husband, Peter Murrell, the SNP’s former chief executive, and ex-SNP treasurer Colin Beattie MSP were also released without charge pending further investigation.

Former first minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the press outside her home in Glasgow. Credit: PA

Returning to her home in Glasgow on Sunday, Ms Sturgeon said: “I can’t say very much just now. What I will say is reiterate the statement I issued last Sunday – I’m certain that I have done nothing wrong.

“I intend to be back in Parliament in the early part of the week, I’ll make myself available for questions then.

“For now I intend to go home and catch up with some family.”

There have been calls for Ms Sturgeon to resign following her arrest last weekend.

Asked whether she has considered stepping back from the SNP, she said: “I’ve done nothing wrong and that is the only thing I’m going to assert today.”

She added: “I know I’m a public figure, I accept what comes with that, but I’m also a human being that’s entitled to a bit of privacy, and my neighbours are also entitled to a bit of that as well.”

Asked whether conditions have been placed on her after her arrest, she told the media: “No, and I’m not going to get into anything other than that.”

Asked whether Nicola Sturgeon would have suspended Nicola Sturgeon, she said: “Look, I’ve done nothing wrong; it’s for others to comment as they see fit, but that’s my position.”

Ms Sturgeon then went into her house.

The Partygate: The Inside Story podcast brings you fresh revelations and our whistleblowers in their own words in the definitive behind-closed-doors story of how ITV News uncovered one of the biggest scandals of our era...