Euan McColm Euan McColm

The timing of Sturgeon’s arrest couldn’t be worse for the SNP

(Getty images)

The arrest of Nicola Sturgeon by police investigating allegations of fraud within the SNP was hardly unexpected. After all, her husband – the party’s former chief executive, Peter Murrell – and the SNP’s past treasurer, Colin Beattie MSP, have already spent time helping officers with their enquiries. It was only a matter of time until the cops got to Sturgeon. 

Nonetheless, the shock of news – broken in a tweet from Police Scotland at 2.29pm on Sunday afternoon – that she was in custody as a suspect was undiminished. 

Until her surprise resignation as SNP leader – and, thus, first minister of Scotland – in February, Sturgeon was widely considered one of the pre-eminent political figures of her generation. Her reputation as an unusually gifted practitioner of the political arts stretched far beyond Scotland. She was that rare thing in UK politics – a figure with an international profile.

But just weeks after she resigned, a police raid on her home – and the SNP’s offices – rather tarnished that reputation.

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