Police Scotland said a 52-year-old woman was detained Sunday morning “as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party.”
Scottish police opened an investigation in 2021 into how more than 600,000 pounds designated for a Scottish independence campaign was spent. It is highly unusual for a leader or former leader of a UK political party to be arrested. The last such case also concerned the Scottish Nationalists: Sturgeon's predecessor as first minister, Alex Salmond, was arrested in 2019 and charged with a series of sexual offenses, including attempted rape. He was acquitted on all 13 charges after a trial in January 2020.
The first female leader of Scotland’s devolved government, Sturgeon led her party to dominance in Scottish politics and refashioned the SNP from a largely one-issue party into a dominant governing force with liberal social positions. Scottish voters backed remaining in the U.K. in a 2014 referendum that was billed as a once-in-a-generation decision. The party wants a new vote, but the U.K. Supreme Court has ruled that Scotland can’t hold one without London’s consent. The central government has refused to authorize another referendum.