Nicola Sturgeon's police statement and interview 'will not be released' according to her lawyer, who also slammed the 'court of media opinion' in his latest statement. Aamer Anwar made the announcement on Monday amid calls for the former First Minister's police interview to be released.
Background of the Case
Her estranged husband Peter Murrell was jailed for five years and three months last month after admitting embezzling over £400,000 when he was SNP chief executive. She was arrested in June 2023 and questioned by cops for several hours as part of Operation Branchform, but was released without charge the same day.
Sturgeon has continually denied any involvement or knowledge of Murrell's activity. Now, Anwar has issued another statement on her behalf insisting the 'gold-plated' police probe was enough to provide her innocence.
Lawyer's Statement
It said: “Ms Sturgeon’s detailed statement produced for Police Scotland was to assist them with their inquiries; not for those who think they could now do a better job than the robust ‘gold-plated’ financial crime investigation. Ms Sturgeon is innocent, as evidenced by the fact that she was not charged, prosecuted nor convicted of any crime. Having been exonerated through the proper process, there is no onus on her to now prove her innocence in the court of media opinion. Neither Ms Sturgeon’s written statement or her police interview will be released.”
Sturgeon chose to use her right to remain silent during the interview by answering "no comment" when questions were put to her by officers. She later submitted a "detailed" written statement to the Branchform investigation in 2023, but the Record previously learned Police Scotland wanted to put more questions to her.
Calls for Transparency
Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour deputy leader, previously led the calls for Sturgeon to publish the written statement in the name of transparency. Speaking last month, the MSP said: "There is no legal bar for Nicola Sturgeon publishing her written statement. Despite her having promised to co-operate fully, she appears to have sat in silence for hours during her interview with police, providing no comment. Officers then asked her for a witness statement, yet she refused. This is clearly not full co-operation. So, now that Peter Murrell has been sentenced, Nicola Sturgeon faces a decision. She can choose to continue to hide behind multiple statements from her lawyer, or she can do the right thing, make good on her earlier promise, and publish her statement to provide the public with full transparency around this murky affair."
