Nicola Sturgeon wells up as she speaks of ‘horror' and 'shame' of arrest
Nicola Sturgeon becomes emotional in a TV interview as she spoke of her "horror" and "shame" of her house being raided by police.
The former Scottish first minister, who served in the role between 2014 and 2023, said part of her "closed down" when she herself was questioned by police.
Reliving her memory of her home being raided by police, and her former husband Peter Murrell being arrested, she said: 'I don't really have a clear memory of that because I think I'd gone upstairs to get myself ready. I genuinely don't know whether, the fact that I don't have a clear image of that in my head is because I didn't witness it or that I have kind of somehow blocked it out." It comes as BBC viewers cringed at Kemi Badenoch's 'fields of wheat' moment.
Ms Sturgeon welled up as she said: 'It wasn't until I got to mum and dad's that I saw the pictures of my house looking like a murder scene effectively. It was just, sorry... I'm not really, I'm just working out … it's really hard to articulate how I felt that day. I had this sense of horror and upset and the kind of shame of it all.'
Asked what it was like walking into a police station for questioning in June 2023, Ms Sturgeon added: 'Horrific. Part of me just closed down.'
Ms Sturgeon was cleared as a suspect in a police probe into SNP finances, while Mr Murrell - who Ms Sturgeon has split from - was charged with embezzlement.
Elsewhere in the interview with ITV, which will air this evening, she discussed rumours surrounding her sexuality, Nigel Farage, her relationship with Alex Salmond, and a miscarriage she previously suffered. The interview coincides with her upcoming memoir, titled Frankly, which is due to be released on August 14.
Ms Sturgeon, who described Mr Farage as "odious" in her book, said the Reform UK leader "comes across as somebody who's got a very, very fragile ego". She went on: "Somebody who's not particularly comfortable, particularly around women. In the 2015 leaders debate just before we went on air that night, I just remember hearing him tell somebody how much he'd had to drink, in the green room area beforehand, and it just felt this kind of bravado and just not very pleasant.'
Asked by presenter Julie Etchingham about her remark in the book that she has never considered sexuality, including her own, to be binary, Ms Sturgeon said: 'I mean what it says, it's just my view of the world and life and the way people are. If you're about to ask me am I making some big revelation? No. Am I putting labels on myself? No. That's how I see the world.'
Asked if she would have a relationship with a woman, she continued: 'I'm just out of a marriage, so I'm not rushing into a relationship with anyone, anytime soon. I'm enjoying being my own person for a while. '
Elsewhere, Ms Sturgeon also admitted she "didn't anticipate" how much criticism her gender reform legislation would garner. She said that in retrospect she should have paused the legislation for a time due to the strong backlash she received.
The former SNP leader said: "I didn't anticipate as much as I should, or engage as much as I should, on some of the concerns that might then be triggered.
"At the point I knew it was becoming, or felt it becoming, as polarised I should have said, 'Right, OK, let's pause, let's take a step back'. I fervently believe that the rights of women and the interests of trans people are not irreconcilable at all.
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