The arrest of the husband of the former Scottish Prime Minister

Peter Morell, husband of former Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon, was arrested on Wednesday following an investigation into the funding of the Scottish National Party.

The 58-year-old gave up, a month ago, the executive presidency of the ruling pro-independence party. This police investigation aims to find out what happened to £600,000 raised by Scottish independence activists in 2017 that should have been used for independence proceedings but is not part of the archived party accounts. The authorities suspect that this money will be used for daily expenses.

The Scottish police said that searches were taking place at several locations and that the detainee was “in custody” for questioning.

Peter Morell, who led the SNP for more than two decades, resigned last month after admitting responsibility for the party’s decline in membership. Weeks ago, his wife, Nicola Sturgeon, also relinquished the post of Prime Minister, which she had held since 2014. Among the reasons given was that she considered that she was no longer a consensual element in the country, which would be necessary to achieve independence from the United Kingdom.

The SNP responded to the arrest with a statement that limited itself to the defense that it “would not be appropriate to comment on the ongoing investigation”, but ensured it was cooperating “fully” with the investigation.

Scotland voted against independence in the 2014 referendum, only getting 45% of the necessary votes. However, the UK’s decision to leave the European Union after two years, despite the majority of Scots wanting to stay, and Scotland’s handling of the pandemic, has revived Scottish support for independence.