John Swinney has 'not read' explosive Nicola Sturgeon memoir that opens up SNP divisions
John Swinney has 'not read' a memoir by Nicola Sturgeon that opened up bitter divisions within the SNP.
But the First Minister admitted he has a copy of a book which reflects on a 'fascinating' time in Scottish political history.
Swinney became SNP leader in 2024 after years of fueding and rows relating to when Sturgeon and her successor Humza Yousaf were in charge.
When Swinney took over, he said he wanted to restore trust with the voters and look to the future.
But Sturgeon's memoir, Frankly, has stirred up tensions from the past, most notably on her fallout with former SNP leader Alex Salmond.
Their relationship disintegrated after the Sturgeon Government launched an unlawful probe into claims of sexual harassment against Salmond.
In her book, she suggested Salmond may have leaked details of the probe himself as part of a dark arts operation.
She also said her former mentor had opposed gay marriage and did not read the independence white paper ahead of the 2014 referendum.
In an interview with STV, Swinney, who was Sturgeon's loyal deputy in Government, gave a series of short answers when quizzed about the book.
On whether he had read the book, he replied: 'I've not read it yet, no.'
He added: 'I have got a copy, yes, but I've not read it yet."
Asked whether he had read extracts published in newspapers, he said: 'Of course, I have.'
He added: 'It's a reflection of a fascinating time in Scottish political history.'
It was also put to Swinney that Sturgeon had been critical of his general election strategy of not focusing on independence more.
He said: 'I'd kind of come in the door by about two weeks when the election was called, and the crucial point for me was that I had to persuade the people of Scotland that the SNP were on their wavelength, that we were addressing their core priorities.
'That's what my biggest task was when I became SNP leader, because the people of Scotland had stopped listening to the SNP at that time. They're listening to us again. We're back in the lead in the polls. We've got much better prospects and I intend to deliver on our expectations.'
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