Peter Murrell has appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court charged with embezzlement

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon says she feels “vindicated” and “relieved” to be cleared in the police investigation into the SNP’s finances.

Ms Sturgeon said there was “never a scrap of evidence that I had done anything wrong”, after Police Scotland confirmed that she and ex-SNP treasurer Colin Beattie are no longer under Operation Branchform investigation.

Her comments came after Peter Murrell - Ms Sturgeon’s estranged husband and former SNP chief executive - appeared in court charged with embezzlement.

Both Ms Sturgeon and Mr Beattie were arrested as part of Operation Branchform in 2023, but both were later released without charge.

Speaking outside her home in Glasgow, Ms Sturgeon said: “Today is a day of mixed emotions for me.

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks outside her home after being cleared by police in Operation Branchform | John Devlin/National World

“After a very thorough investigation of all the evidence, no action has been taken against me - in other words, I have done nothing wrong.

“I was confident of reaching this point and getting to this outcome, but there is relief to have that confirmed.

“For almost two years I have had this cloud of investigation hanging over me so it won’t surprise anyone to say it has not been an easy experience and I am relieved to get on with my life.”

She added she had “done nothing wrong” and there was “never a scrap of evidence that I had done anything wrong”.

Her sister Gillian Sturgeon posted on Facebook: “My sister is and always will be an honest woman.

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“Lots of people have lots of apologies to make for their harsh words but she’ll never get them.

“My sister is free now from this mess. [I] can’t wait until she leaves Holyrood for the last time and [...] I support my brother-in-law. Always have done and always will.”

First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney said the party is now in a “clearer position” as it may have been a victim of embezzlement, suggesting some of the recent difficulties faced by the party could have “moved on”.

Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney have spoken about the former first minister being cleared in the SNP finances probe | NationalWorld

Speaking to journalists in his office at Holyrood, Mr Swinney said: “This will have been a very difficult and challenging experience for Nicola Sturgeon and for Colin Beattie.

“I know they will be relieved by the outcome of the proceedings today. I share that relief for them and I hope this provides the opportunity for both Nicola and Colin to move on from the difficulties that they have faced while this investigation has been under way.”

Mr Swinney said he could not comment on the live proceedings under way in the courts.

But he said the SNP had faced “very difficult times” in the recent period.

He continued: “I think what people will now see is that the court proceedings that are now live involve the possibility that the SNP has been an alleged victim of embezzlement and that’s obviously a matter that will have contributed to those difficulties.”

The SNP will always have “the highest standards of governance and financial control” under his leadership, he said, pledging that any donations to the party would support its “essential work”.

The party now has a “sound basis for optimism” for the coming years, Mr Swinney said.

The First Minister was asked if he was worried about the prospects of the case still hanging over the party going into the 2026 Holyrood election.

He said: “We are in a much clearer position today, because what has emerged from the proceedings in court today is that the Scottish National Party may be the alleged victim of embezzlement and that is the issue the courts have got to consider.

“That I think indicates to anybody observing the situation that the Scottish National Party is in a clearer position today, that the issues associated with the investigation have been advanced to an extent that that point is clear.

“In that context, I think we can feel that some of the difficulties that we have experienced as a consequence of this investigation being under way have now moved on.”

Meanwhile, also at the Scottish Parliament, Mr Beattie said he would spend the evening celebrating with his wife.

He said: “I am very relieved - I knew myself I had done nothing, but two years is a long time and it’s been hard for my family.

Colin Beattie MSP speaks to journalists in the Scottish Parliament after being cleared by police in Operation Branchform. | Jane Barlow/Press Association

“I’ve had tremendous support from my constituents and members and that’s been a real help - even now I have messages pouring into my mailbox.

“It’s a really good result for me and I am going to relax and get back to normal family life now.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.

“I am going to raise a glass with my wife tonight for sure.”

Mr Beattie is intending to stand for re-election in the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, and said being “taken off the suspect list” will make his chances “easier”.

Only hours earlier Mr Murrell appeared in private at Edinburgh Sheriff Court and was bailed by a sheriff after making no plea.

Mr Murrell was the chief executive of the party for two decades and alongside Ms Sturgeon as party leader, the couple turned the SNP into an election-winning machine.

He was forced to resign from his position in 2023 over a row about party numbers and was then arrested later that year. In April 2024, he was charged with embezzlement.

Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell | Press Association

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Following direction from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, criminal enquiries into two people arrested as part of the investigation into the funding and finances of the SNP have now concluded.

“The 73 year old man arrested on April 18, 2023 and the 54-year-old woman arrested on June 11, 2023 have not been charged and are no longer under investigation.”

Mr Murrell has been committed for further examination and has been granted bail, with his next court appearance still to be determined.

The Crown Office has also written to Police Scotland with advice on the ongoing investigation into Ms Sturgeon and Mr Beattie.

A Crown Office spokesperson said: “The request was handled as part of a large-scale wider inquiry and without delay on the part of the prosecution service who recognise its significance.”

In April 2023 police swooped on the home Ms Sturgeon and Mr Murrell shared in Glasgow, searched the SNP’s headquarters in Edinburgh, and confiscated a luxury motorhome parked in the driveway of Mr Murrell’s mother’s house in Fife.

Police officers outside the home of Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell. | Andrew Milligan/Press Association

This all surrounds the investigation into what happened to £660,000 worth of donations given to the SNP by independence activists.

Back in March 2017, Ms Sturgeon announced plans to hold a second independence referendum and on the same day launched the #ScotRef fundraising appeal.

This appeal closed three months later having raised nearly half of the £1 million target.

In December 2019 a second fundraising appeal on yes.scot took the campaign’s funding to nearly £667,000.

In March 2021 three party officials resigned from the SNP’s finance and audit committee after being denied sight of the party’s accounts.

A video then emerged two years later of Ms Sturgeon telling the party’s national executive committee that the party’s finances had never been stronger and warning of how raising concerns about this publicly could impact the party.

Police Scotland received its first complaint only days later.

Shortly after the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, former MP Douglas Chapman resigned as the SNP’s national treasurer after only six months.

Days later Mr Beattie was reappointed as party treasurer and former MP Joanna Cherry KC resigned from the national executive committee over transparency concerns - a month after this Mr Murrell provided a £107,000 loan to the party and Police Scotland formally launched Operation Branchform a month after that.

Mr Murrell was then arrested on 5 April 2023 at the home he shares with Ms Sturgeon - Mr Beattie was arrested on 18 April and Ms Sturgeon was arrested on 11 June.

The following April, Mr Murrell was re-arrested and charged with embezzlement.

At the beginning of this year Ms Sturgeon announced she and Mr Murrell had separated.

Nicola Sturgeon's 'vindication' after being cleared in probe as John Swinney says SNP in 'clearer position'