THE SNP has said the party has been "co operating fully" with an ongoing police investigation which today saw its former chief executive Peter Murrell arrested at the home he shares with his wife former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Police cordoned off an area outside the couple's home before Mr Murrell was taken into police custody for questioning.

Searches of the property are understood to be taking place as part of an investigation.

There is also a large police presence at the SNP headquarters in Edinburgh.

Seven police officers were filmed entering the offices in the Old Town this morning as Mr Murrell was arrested at the couple's home in Glasgow.

READ MORE: Who is Peter Murrell, the former SNP chief executive?

Uniformed police constables in dark clothing were captured on video going into the SNP offices at Gordon Lamb House, Jackson's Entry, off the Royal Mile, near the Scottish Parliament.

Some of the officers were carrying small crates with others what appeared like small tool boxes, a torch and a clipboard.

Two other police constables wearing high visibility vests were photographed inside the entrance of the building while four police vans were photographed outside the headquarters. Passers-by and onlookers standing on nearby balconies overlooking the scene were filmed watching the police activity.

A spokesman for the party said its governing body, the National Executive Committee, NEC, met on Saturday and agreed to a "review of governance and transparency".

“Clearly it would not be appropriate to comment on any live police investigation but the SNP have been cooperating fully with this investigation and will continue to do so. 

“At its meeting on Saturday, the governing body of the SNP, the NEC, agreed to a review of governance and transparency – that will be taken forward in the coming weeks," the SNP spokesman said.

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Mr Murrell, 58, who had been party chief executive since 1999, was the man responsible for the day-to-day running of the SNP, which was at one point the second largest party in the UK.

That job meant Mr Murrell was one of the most influential figures in Scottish politics, despite having never been an elected politician or a figure much in front of the cameras.

However, he announced he was resigning with immediate effect on March 18 amid a row over the party's membership numbers and transparency.

 

 

 

It comes almost a quarter of a century after he succeeded Michael Russell, the current SNP president, as the party's chief executive, who has now taken on his work on a voluntary basis until a permanent successor has been recruited.

Before that Mr Murrell had worked in the constituency office of former SNP leader and First Minister Alex Salmond.

Mr Murrell married Ms Sturgeon, then SNP depute leader and deputy first minister, in 2010, with Mr Salmond, the then first minister, among the guests.

Mr Murrell is regarded by many as having played a key role in transforming the party's fortunes, helping to modernise SNP operations.

While membership has fallen from the peak of about 125,000 achieved in 2018, to the recently revealed total of 72,186, the party remains the largest and most dominant political force in Scotland.

READ MORE: WATCH: Police raid SNP headquarters in Edinburgh

And with Mr Murrell and Ms Sturgeon at the helm, the SNP has cemented its electoral dominance, having been in power at Holyrood since 2007 and won every election north of the border since then.

However, critics of the SNP under Ms Sturgeon's leadership, both inside and outside the party, long questioned whether it is appropriate to have the key roles of leader and chief executive held by one couple.