Time to close the case against Nicola Sturgeon

Police delay risks casting a shadow over the general election in Scotland

Nicola Sturgen at a book event earlier this month, photo Greg Macvean

The Times Scotland headline shouted: “Nicola Sturgeon still being investigated over missing SNP funds”. The paper’s editor put that out on X/twitter the day after the general election announcement, and it was gleefully retweeted by the SNP’s political opponents.

Police Scotland coincidentally chose the day after the election announcement to hand evidence against the party’s former Chief Executive and Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell to the Crown. Now it is up to the prosecution service to decide if the charge of embezzlement (1) has sufficient merit to be put before a jury. But instead of closing the case against Nicola Sturgeon the same day, the police announced she was still being investigated.

This is hard to make sense of. Sturgeon had far less involvement in the running of the SNP’s accounts than Murrell. I have written before that, viewed as a financial institution, the SNP is a minnow. It is all in one country, its revenue is about the size of a golf club or a medium-sized hotel. The central allegation - that funds raised to fight a new independence referendum was used in campaigning for the 2021 Holyrood election instead - is three years old Sturgeon was arrested and questioned a year ago. There is no excuse for the investigation to still be dragging on. Justice delayed is justice denied.

Nicola Sturgeon grew up in public life in Scotland. She is passionately committed to the cause of independence. A lawyer and a careful, diligent person, she lives modestly, without any indication of high-spending hobbies. She doesn’t go on minibreaks to Las Vegas or Monte Carlo to play the tables. Sturgeon relaxes mainly by reading literary fiction and regularly posts a huge pile of books that she has enjoyed. For many years as First Minister of Scotland, she sacrificed part of the salary she was due each year, returning it to the public coffers. The idea that she was at the same time putting her hand in the till is hard to credit and it is disappointing that the investigation has not been officially concluded in a reasonable time frame.

In this case, the effect of this Dickensian dragging out of process is not just upsetting and harmful for the person concerned. It risks damaging the chances of Scotland’s main independence-supporting party in a closely-fought general election campaign.

The “investigation” into Sturgeon must negatively affect fundraising

Every pound counts in an election as close as this one. The UK government just changed the rules on election spending and raised it to £35 million - double what it used to be. If ten per cent of that is spent in Scotland that will be £3.5 million - the SNP will be lucky to spend a fraction of that. It is no secret that the party is low on funds.

Much of the spending by the Labour and Conservative parties will probably go on social media and online advertising, so be prepared to find your Facebook feed awash with picture of Keir Starmer - with or without a Union Jack, depending on your profile. But the SNP won’t be able to compete with that. Many SNP MPs and candidates have opened crowdfunders to help pay for leaflets and so on and most are struggling to reach their £2,000 targets.

The SNP has lost a lot of supporters and their subs without the help of the police for sure - some of that is to do with unpopular policies on gender recognition or woodburning stoves or its failure to progress the cause of independence etc. But some is clearly to do with allegations of financial misconduct against the SNP’’s figurehead and leader for so many years. Unionist politicians and journalists frequently drop in lines like “Sturgeon found herself of interest to the police” to articles or discussions of the SNP’s prospects. Many people will mutter ‘no smoke without fire’ and decide not to part with their hard-earned cash.

Political interference - or simple incompetence?

I have no idea if there is political influence at work in the investigation into Sturgeon or merely incompetence. It is no secret that many in the British establishment are concerned about the rise of support for independence, which remains very high in historic terms at around 50%. The main vehicle for expressing that at the ballot box is the SNP.

Many in the UK state would be relieved to see Scotland return to the Unionist fold by electing a majority of Labour MPs. If you look at clearly evidenced recent history on this - from the suppression of the McCrone report to the refusal to release polling data on support for independence even when ordered to do so , it is not inconceivable that there is some political interference behind the scenes. However it could simply be that the high-ups in Police Scotland are struggling to take a decision and bring this charade to a close. Whichever it is, they risk affecting the fairness of the democratic process.

Some of Nicola Sturgeon’s favourite books from last year

1 I originally said the charge of embezzlement didn’t necessarily involve personal gain but I am not sure about that. It can be theft or ‘misappropriation’. I am not sure what that involves.