“A 52-year-old woman who was arrested earlier today, Sunday, 11 June, 2023, as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party, has been released without charge pending further investigation,” Police Scotland said in an updated statement Sunday. A spokeswoman for Sturgeon earlier confirmed the arrest and told PA Media “Nicola has consistently said she would co-operate with the investigation if asked and continues to do so.
But since standing down, the party she led for almost a decade has descended into chaos amid a widely publicized police investigation. Officers have been probing the SNP’s handling of money that was slated for Scottish independence campaigning, according to PA Media. The group has dominated politics north of the border for more than a decade and has pushed for a repeat of a 2014 referendum on independence, in which voters rejected the chance to split from the UK by 55% to 45%.