Humza Yousaf admits he thought Nicola Sturgeon had resigned because of police fraud probe into SNP finances – as outgoing senior MP Mhairi Black complains former First Minister’s arrest ruined her honeymoon
- He made the unguarded remarks in an appearance at the Edinburgh Festival
Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf has admitted he was among those who wondered if a police probe into the SNP’s finances influenced predecessor Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise decision to quit.
The SNP leader last night said his own first thought when her husband Peter Murrell – the party’s former chief executive – was arrested in April was that the investigation may have been a factor.
But he insisted he does not believe his predecessor ‘knew what people are accusing her of’ when she announced she was standing down as First Minister.
He made the unguarded remarks in an appearance at the Edinburgh Festival. Asked by comedian Matt Forde whether the first arrests and revelations about a motorhome being seized led him to believe it was the reason for Ms Sturgeon’s resignation, Mr Yousaf said: ‘I think everybody had that thought.
‘But I genuinely believe Nicola when she says – you know, we’ve not talked about the police investigation but going by her public commentary – that she said ‘Look, I did not know what was going on’.’
It came as a senior SNP MP said that Ms Sturgeon’s own arrest in June – she was later released – had upset her honeymoon.
The SNP leader last night said his own first thought when Ms Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell (pictured together) – the party’s former chief executive – was arrested in April was that it may have been a factor in her resignation
But he insisted he does not believe his predecessor ‘knew what people are accusing her of’ when she announced she was standing down as First Minister.
Westminster depute leader Mhairi Black said her originally honeymoon was interrupted by Boris Johnson resigning last year and a second trip away as compensation this year was disrupted as ‘the second day in there’s a tent put up outside Nicola Sturgeon home’.
Ms Sturgeon was arrested as part of the police investigation into the use of £600,000 of donations earmarked for an independence campaign, and quizzed for seven hours before being released. She has denied any wrongdoing.
The 52-year-old stood down as both SNP leader and first minister in March, since when there have been several dramatic developments in the probe.
Mr Murrell was arrested and there was a two-day police search of the couple’s Glasgow home in April.
This saw a blue forensic tent erected out the front of the property, while officers were spotted scouring both inside the house and outside in the back garden.
Soon afterwards, a luxury camper van – thought to be worth around £110,000 – was seized by police from Mr Murrell’s mother’s home.
Colin Beattie, the SNP’s then treasurer, was arrested later in April and subsequently stood down from his party role.
Aside from the growing questions about the nature of the police probe, there has also been speculation about what the inside of the detached property might look like
Mr Yousaf also admitted his policies are failing to come across because of the focus on the police probe into his party’s funding.
Asked if he felt that the crisis is not his fault but he has been landed with dealing it, Mr Yousaf said he did ‘a little bit’ and ‘the timing has been a challenge’.
He said he was called about Mr Murrell’s arrest within days of becoming First Minister and the then SNP treasurer Colin Beattie was arrested on the day he was setting out his prospectus in parliament. Both were released without charge pending further inquires, as was Ms Sturgeon.
Mr Yousaf said: ‘The most frustrating part for me is the inability to then cut through for what I’m trying to do.
‘Because I’m afraid, if I like it or not… that image of the police tent in the garden, it is going to sear in people’s minds.’
Westminster depute leader Mhairi Black said her originally honeymoon was interrupted by Boris Johnson resigning last year and a second trip away as compensation this year was disrupted as ‘the second day in there’s a tent put up outside Nicola Sturgeon home’.
Ms Black announced last month she will stand down at the next election, saying Westminster is ‘one of the most unhealthy workplaces you could ever be in’.
Speaking at an In Conversation With… event at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Ms Black said: ‘It’s a human decision rather than a political one. I want to enjoy my life when I realised that I’ve now spent a third of my life in Westminster, it’s just – it makes my stomach turn.’
Responding to questions from event host, journalist Graeme Spiers, where he said she was seen to ‘thrive’ in the Chamber, she said: ‘You’re only seeing a three-minute clip. You don’t see the other 23 hours a week that I’ve had to spend surrounded by a***holes.’
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