Nicola Sturgeon makes a stage-managed return to Holyrood following her arrest

Nicola Sturgeon was back in Holyrood, speaking for the first time since her arrest by Police Scotland

Nicola Sturgeon is back in Holyrood – and she marked the moment by organising a press conference for journalists in the Parliament’s garden lobby.

This is the first time she’s been back since her arrest. Often the press pack “doorstep” politicians they want to get an answer out of, by waiting en-masse for them in the main thoroughfare between the debating chamber and the MSPs’ offices.

The geography of Holyrood means MSPs cannot get from A to B without having to walk through the garden lobby – the Parliament’s central meeting point all members of staff are allowed to be in.

Nicola Sturgeon spoke to journalists in the Scottish Parliament's garden lobby. Image: Jane Barlow/Press Association.

This means if the press pack is waiting for someone, there’s no way to avoid it.

Often these doorsteps can become a chaotic scrum. That’s what happened after former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale returned after appearing in the I’m a Celebrity jungle in 2017.

But this time round Ms Sturgeon bit the bullet and faced the media by setting up a press conference in advance.

As the former first minister pointed out, this was probably her only option – not doing so would have seen journalists hounding her whenever she tried to enter or leave the chamber.

Ms Sturgeon said: “This is not a criticism of you [the journalists], but if I hadn’t done this I couldn’t have come back to Parliament and gone about my job. I wouldn’t have been able to walk through the lobby.”

This appeased the journalists, who despite a bit of shouting over the top of one another, were notably calm – and meant Ms Sturgeon was in control.

Ms Sturgeon is no stranger to using the media to deliver a message. That’s one of the reasons why she was so unflappable as First Minister.

On the day she got arrested – after being released without charge, pending further enquiries – Ms Sturgeon put out a carefully worded media statement maintaining her innocence.

She moved the story on, with the majority of the newspaper front pages the following morning leading on her statement rather than the fact she was arrested. The move had effectively helped manage the crisis.

Ms Sturgeon then made a similar statement to the media outside her home over the weekend.

It could be argued these media appearances are distracting from the day-to-day work of the Scottish Government and the new First Minister Humza Yousaf.

As she stood in front of multiple cameras and microphones, Ms Sturgeon insisted this wasn’t the case.

But while all the journalists in Holyrood were huddled around Ms Sturgeon in the garden lobby, only metres away inside the debating chamber, circular economy minister Lorna Slater announced Circularity Scotland, the firm set up to manage Scotland’s deposit return scheme, had gone into administration.

Most outlets didn’t have this story until after the scrum with Mr Sturgeon. Had they not been at this press conference with the former first minister, a good chunk of the press pack would have been watching Ms Slater’s speech instead.

Despite this, Ms Sturgeon told journalists: “If I thought I was to step aside and you would all accept this has nothing to do with the SNP, then there would be an argument for that – but that is not the case.”