Despite calls for Sturgeon to be suspended from the party, Humza Yousaf has said today that he will not do so, telling BBC Scotland that he sees ‘no reason’ to suspend a party member who has been released without charge.
Not all SNP politicians agree with him, though. Angus MacNeil, the MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, tweeted yesterday: ‘This soap opera has gone far enough, Nicola Sturgeon suspended others from the SNP for an awful lot less! Time for political distance until the investigation ends either way.’
Michelle Thomson, the SNP MSP who was suspended herself despite never being under police investigation, has called on Sturgeon to ensure her values are ‘consistent’ – and to resign the party whip after her arrest.
And Ash Regan, who ran as a candidate in the SNP leadership race, has said that Sturgeon should ‘voluntarily resigning her SNP membership until this is all cleared up’.
