Nicola Sturgeon received more than £30,000 to work as a pundit on ITV's General Election coverage, according to the latest update on her Holyrood register of interests.
The new entry on the Scottish Parliament's website showed that she was paid the fee plus VAT of around £5,000 from ITN Limited for her appearance.
She received another £486.88 for travel and other expenses, £2,803.78 for hotel accommodation and £329.15 plus VAT for car travel to and from the studio for rehearsals and the live programme.
The former first minister appeared on the channel's Election 2024 Live: The Results alongside former Tory chancellor George Osborne and former Labour shadow chancellor Ed Balls.
The entry showed the money was paid to her limited company, which handles the income from her earnings outside her role as an MSP.
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The appearance came just over a year after the SNP MSP for Glasgow Southside was arrested by detectives and then released without charge as part of Operation Branchform, the investigation into the funding and financing of the SNP.
Responding to the news, Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy MSP said: “If ever there was a reward for failure, it was this. Nicola Sturgeon probably reckons she earned every penny of her huge fee for having to squirm on live TV as her own toxic legacy led to SNP seats tumbling on election night, but this declaration exposes her shameless hypocrisy.
“Having the ITV fee paid to her company is clearly a ruse to avoid paying the higher rates of income tax her incompetent SNP Government have imposed on hard-working Scots and which she personally championed.
“So much for those with the broadest shoulders bearing the heaviest burden. It’s hard not to conclude that Nicola Sturgeon is an utter fraud.”
First Minister John Swinney denied that Nicola Sturgeon should resign as an MSP.
The SNP had called for former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson to step down as an MSP after she was paid £7,500 for a TV appearance at the 2019 general election.
Angus Robertson, a Scottish Government minister, said at the time it was "another reminder why Ruth Davidson should resign".
Mr Swinney was asked today if Ms Sturgeon should step down as an MSP given his party's call for Ms Davidson's resignation five years ago.
He said: "No, I don't think she should. And I think the call that was made for Ruth Davidson to resign was the wrong call.
"I don't think we should have been calling for that. We should just let these things take their course. Let folk register them."
A spokesperson for Nicola Sturgeon said: “Nicola was paid the fee offered by ITV for her appearance on the election results programme and has registered it accordingly.”
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