NICOLA Sturgeon has described Police Scotland's probe into the SNP’s finances and funding as “unexpected and unwelcome”.
Writing in our sister paper, the Glasgow Times, the former first minister said she was unable to say more on the investigation which saw her husband arrested and questioned for more than 11 hours.
Peter Murrell – the former party chief executive – was released without charge, pending further investigation.
On the day he was questioned by detectives, police also carried out searches of the house he shares with Ms Sturgeon. The SNP's HQ in Edinburgh was also raided and a luxury campervan was seized from outside the Dunfermline home of Mr Murrell’s 92-year-old widowed mother, where it had sat unused for two years.
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Police are investigating if £660,000 raised by the SNP specifically for a new independence referendum was spent on other things.
The party's then treasurer, Colin Beattie was also arrested before being released without charge pending further investigation.
In her column, Ms Sturgeon spoke about her transition to the backbenches at Holyrood.
She wrote: “Sometimes it feels that there is scarcely time to breathe, let alone think. And if that is true in normal times, it was even more so during the long, difficult months of Covid.
“To go from 16 years of that to being a backbencher – still an incredibly busy job but without the weight of government responsibility – was always going to be a difficult transition.
“And, of course, since I stepped down, there have been unexpected and unwelcome developments that I am not able to expand upon here, but which have made this period even more challenging.
“However, in spite of that, I am enjoying the new perspective and different focus that comes with no longer being first minister.”
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Ms Sturgeon said she would "relish" the chance to spend more time in her Glasgow Southside constituency.
“Throughout my time in government, I have always worked hard to do the best for my constituents.
“However, having even more time now to spend in the Southside is something I relish.
“There are many issues facing my constituents – for example, housing, the quality of the environment, transport links, access to health services – that I will raise and, where necessary, campaign on from the backbenches.
“I look forward to highlighting the many positive developments happening across the Southside, from the achievements of young people in our schools to new community and housing projects and the redevelopment of the iconic Citizens Theatre, to name just a few.
“Of course, my constituents, like people across the country, are affected by national trends and issues too.
“Top of that list right now is the cost-of-living crisis.”
Ms Sturgeon said she is “proud” of the work her Government did to mitigate the cost-of-living crisis, “including the ongoing extension of free school meals”.
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