Yousaf's baptism of fire has just become an uncontrollable inferno

The new First Minister said he wanted to be “very, very clear the governance of the party was not as it should be” and demanded change.

Committing himself to absolute transparency, he signalled external auditors would be brought in to review the state of the party.

Mr Yousaf disparaged the so-called “golden couple” arrangement with the party leader married to the chief executive, saying the SNP should “not rely on one person”.

“There is an opportunity to do things differently. There has to be more openness,” he declared.

It was, of course, the lack of transparency, or should that be duplicity, over the SNP’s membership numbers, which led Peter Murrell to resign as Chief Executive just three short weeks ago.

On Wednesday, Ms Sturgeon’s husband was arrested by police. They have spent nearly two years probing the party’s finances and what happened to around £660,000 in SNP donations to fund a second independence referendum.

Mr Murrell, questioned for 11 hours at Falkirk police station, was released without charge. Police continue with their inquiries.

Members of HM Constabulary spent two days swarming over Chez Sturgeon in Glasgow, having erected a large blue investigation tent at the property. One bemused neighbour said: “It was like a scene from Line of Duty.”

The sense of crisis deepened when it was revealed the SNP’s accountants had quit. Not only that, some insiders are now demanding the leadership election be rerun. Blimey.

'Quite unbelievable'

One supporter of Kate Forbes told The Telegraph: “Of course, it should be re-run. There has been a material change in circumstances. For people to argue it should not be re-run means the party Establishment had no knowledge about this. But that is quite unbelievable.”

Angus MacNeil, the Hebridean MP, chipped in: “It is being more and more successfully argued it should be rerun. Does the SNP and the leadership not want to make sure there’s not a question-mark hanging over them?” Again, blimey.

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The Nationalist king over the loch, Alba’s Alex Salmond, couldn’t resist stoking the flames of discontent.

Suggesting Nicola Sturgeon was forced to resign, he stressed the SNP “obviously has questions to answer” over how the leadership election was run; why it was “rushed” and why there was the “extraordinary anxiety to get Humza in”. All of which, the ex-SNP chieftain argued “delegitimises” Mr Yousaf.

Some have questioned whether or not there was some connection between Ms Sturgeon’s resignation and the police investigation. The ex-FM has steadfastly denied this but Alex Neil, the former Scottish minister, seemed less than convinced.

Sturgeon's home

“Well,” he told BBC Radio’s Today programme, “Nicola did resign very suddenly. Everybody and their granny knew about this investigation. There were very strong rumours for the last couple of months that some kind of arrest was possibly imminent. So, it’s hard to believe it wasn’t a factor in Nicola’s consideration.”

Claims that police were somehow “in cahoots” with the SNP leadership over the timing of Mr Murrell's arrest were dismissed forcefully by Mr Yousaf as a “conspiracy theory”. It may not be the last before the police investigation ends.

In the midst of all the “challenging” times engulfing the SNP, the party leader insisted Scotland becoming independent within five years remained a “realistic” goal. Politicians’ capacity for self-delusion never ceases to surprise me.

And if the Murrell affair was not enough, the new FM, of course, has other pressing matters to attend to, not least what to do about the UK Government’s Section 35 veto on the Scottish Government’s controversial Gender Recognition Reform Bill.

Time is almost up for Mr Yousaf to make a decision. The deadline is April 17, which is when, coincidentally, Holyrood returns from its recess. But the FM’s office has already explained the Scottish Cabinet would not have to meet for a decision to be taken on the way forward. So, it looks like it will be down to Mr Yousaf and his cosy inner circle.

'Simply no case'

Having declared his “starting principle” was to challenge the UK Government’s veto in court, he later nuanced his position, suggesting that, if the legal advice concluded there was “simply no state-able case whatsoever” for challenging Westminster’s action, then he wouldn’t.

Last week, Rishi Sunak upped the political stakes, however, by pledging to change the UK Equality Act to create a legal distinction between biological females and men who have transitioned. The PM’s move could bar trans-women from accessing single-sex spaces such as women-only hospital wards and from competing against biological women in sport.

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In the week when Holyrood returns from its Easter break, Mr Yousaf is due to give a parliamentary statement on the Scottish Government’s “priorities”. Having a day without screaming, negative headlines might be one of them.

Police have, rightly, urged people not to speculate publicly about the details of their investigation into SNP finances given the case is “active”. Yet, privately, there must be barely a soul in Britain, who isn’t pondering what lies behind the curious events of this past week and where, ultimately, they might lead.

Not least SNP grandee Michael Russell, the party’s President and acting Chief Executive. Having described the party as being in a “tremendous mess” over the events of the leadership race, he told The Herald the police probe meant it was in the “biggest and most challenging crisis we’ve ever faced”.

Reluctantly, he concluded: “I don’t think independence can be secured right now; we need to work towards some co-ordinated campaigning” with a “new Yes movement”. So, Indyref2 is over the horizon.

At present, there are many questions hanging over the SNP because of the police probe. It will take time for the answers to emerge. But emerge they will. Eventually. And then what?