Latest news with #Ex-SNP
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Nicola Sturgeon claims arrest was ‘worst day of her life' in her tell-all new book
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NICOLA Sturgeon said she struggled to cope with the 'mental torture' of not being cleared by police after a seven hour interrogation session about the SNP's finances. The ex-First Minister told how she was 'distraught' after cops continued to keep her under investigation after she was taken into custody on June 11, 2023. 4 Nicola Sturgeon has opened up about her experience after her and husband were arrested Credit: Reuters 4 Ex-SNP chief executive Peter Murrell has been charged as part of Operation Branchform Credit: PA 4 The former first minister was eventually cleared after being questioned In the extracts from her book, Frankly, she said her arrest was 'the worst day of my life' and an experience she is 'not sure I will ever get over'. The ex-Nats chief revealed she fled to a friend's house in northeast Scotland 'in a bad state mentally', 'terrified' and hiding from the media. On return to 'a new normality', she said: 'It was obviously impossible to put it all out of my mind. I carried a sense of dread and anxiety about what might lie ahead. 'The investigation was the first thing I thought about when I woke up in the morning and the last thing in my mind before I fell asleep (if I fell asleep) at night. 'On some days, I could lock it away and carry on, almost as if everything was normal. On others, it paralysed me.' The ex-FM added that she was 'frightened' and became 'scared and paranoid' about the possibility the ''system' might reach the conclusion that I was guilty of something'. She added: 'Being the subject of a high-profile criminal investigation for almost two years, especially having committed no crime, was like a form of mental torture.' After she was cleared on March 20 this year, the same day her estranged husband Peter Murrell appeared in court charged with embezzlement of party funds, Ms Sturgeon said she 'bust into tears'. She added: 'The feeling of relief, and release, was overwhelming.' Mr Murrell entered no plea and was released on bail on the same day. Nicola Sturgeon announces end of marriage to Peter Murrell with 'heavy heart' The former party chief executive faces a future trial over the embezzlement charges against him. In March 2021, Police Scotland received its first complaint around the SNP's finances, focusing on the alleged misuse of campaign funds. Four months later in July, cops confirmed the launch of their probe into concerns - codenaming it 'Operation Branchform'. In February 2023, Nicola Sturgeon shocked the Scottish political world and announced she would step down as First Minister and SNP leader. She was later replaced in March by Humza Yousaf, her health secretary. On April 5, 2023, Peter Murrell was arrested by cops at their shared Glasgow home before being released without charge. Officers spent two days searching the property and SNP HQ, and confiscate a luxury motorhome parked in the driveway of Mr Murrell's 92-year-old mother and images of police tents on Ms Sturgeon's driveway dominated newspapers and TV. Two weeks later on April 18, party treasurer Colin Beattie was arrested before being released without charge. A week later, Ms Sturgeon insisted she had no warning of the events which shortly followed her resignation and claimed they were her 'worst nightmare'. On June 11, the former SNP leader herself was arrested by police and taken into custody to be quizzed by cops. After seven hours of interrogation she is released pending further investigation. More than a year after his first arrest, Mr Murrell is re-arrested and charged with alleged embezzlement in connection with Operation Branchform on April 18, 2025. Almost a year later, on March 20, 2025, Police Scotland confirmed both Ms Sturgeon and Mr Beattie will not be charged and are no longer under investigation. Mr Murrell, now estranged from Ms Sturgeon after she announced their split in January, appeared in court the same day, entered no plea and was released on bail on the same day. The former party chief executive still faces a potential trial over the embezzlement charges against him. 4 Nicola Sturgeon made has made the revelations in her new book, Frankly
Scottish Sun
5 days ago
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Talented politician Kate Forbes achieved more in 10 years than many do in a lifetime, says ex-SNP spin doctor
KATE EXIT Talented politician Kate Forbes achieved more in 10 years than many do in a lifetime, says ex-SNP spin doctor Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IT is an odd thing to be writing a political obituary for a 35-year-old. But yesterday morning Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes stunned the world of Scottish politics by announcing she will not seek re-election next May. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Sign up 2 Kate Forbes, pictured with First Minister John Swinney at Holyrood, has announced she is stepping down Credit: PA While it may appear to many observers as a bolt from the blue, it is not a decision the ever-thoughtful MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch will have reached without a great deal of soul-searching and careful consideration. The deliberate words she selected to explain her decision in an open letter to the First Minister should be taken at face value. It's a tough balancing act between ministerial office and the commitment of a young family based 150 miles from Holyrood. Nobody is likely to begrudge a mother more time to enjoy the 'precious early years of family life' with wee Naomi, her daughter, who turned three yesterday. What will have been a difficult decision for Kate now raises some even tougher questions for our politics. As the party's head of communications and research, I first encountered Kate at a SNP candidate selection day in 2015. Of the dozens of wannabe parliamentarians being assessed to stand for election, she stood out by a country mile. She was fiercely intelligent, if a bit swotty. A natural communicator, more polished than many longstanding MSPs. And she was driven by a sense of duty to serve. She flourished as a new backbencher from 2016 to 2018 — as a team player within a parliamentary group of MSPs, and an inquisitorial committee member. She was someone clearly unafraid to think for herself, championing national and constituency causes on a range of issues: economic, cultural and environmental. Kate Forbes picks her biggest scandal of the SNP's time in power It came as no surprise that Nicola Sturgeon elevated her to junior finance minister in her 2018 reshuffle, a calling she undertook diligently, quickly impressing the business community. Her ability to step up to deliver a Scottish Budget mere hours after the resignation of Finance Secretary Derek Mackay in February 2020 — the first woman to do so in the Scottish Parliament — thrust her into the limelight. Days later, the finance brief in Cabinet was deservedly hers to keep. She held this post through the toughest of times, navigating the nation's finances and support for businesses through a global pandemic. In the 2021 election she was returned to Holyrood with the largest majority of any MSP on 56 per cent of the vote and in July 2022 she blazed another trail in becoming the first Cabinet secretary in the Government to take maternity leave. 2 Ex-SNP spin doctor says Kate Forbes can be proud of her time in politics Credit: Alamy Kate returned to the political fray with her eyes set on the top job, after Ms Sturgeon resigned as First Minister in 2023. She was pipped at the post by Humza Yousaf in a bruising leadership battle and then, just a year later, became John Swinney's deputy in exchange for her support for his leadership. Despite effectively being the runner-up in two leadership contests — one fiercely fought, the other de facto — she emerged a political winner with her head held high. It's a rare thing to announce your departure from the political arena with a reputation intact — she has regularly been polled as Scotland's most popular politician, with approval ratings generally higher among the population as a whole than within the SNP rank and file. It's no secret Kate has at times felt thwarted in realising her ambitions for Scotland in government. Her focus on economic growth, creating good jobs in communities from the Borders to Benbecula, has proved more challenging than should ever have been the case. More broadly, we can undoubtedly do better by our young, talented, female MSPs. Some of that is practical and should be urgently addressed by all parties. Kate herself lambasted the lack of creche facilities for young mothers in political life back in 2023 and colleagues such as Aileen Campbell and Gail Ross also quit to spend more time with their young families. While Holyrood has few late-night sittings like Westminster, the rigours of ministerial office and constituency work mean it's more than a full-time job, with little time left for family. Scotland's geography is a challenge, but our outdated transport infrastructure doesn't help. The torrent of hateful abuse directed at politicians has grown exponentially over recent years. Female politicians receive a disproportionate share of that bile, much of it laden with misogyny. Kate faced the slings and arrows of public opinion for her deeply-held Christian faith, including from within her own party, which challenged the fundamentals of just how tolerant a Scotland we live in today. But in a decade in politics, Kate has achieved more than many could hope to achieve in a lifetime. I dearly hope to see her return. Meanwhile, work must be done to make our politics a hell of a lot better. Fergus Mutch is a former SNP head of communications and is now managing partner of advisory firm True North.
Sky News
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Like her or loathe her, Nicola Sturgeon is one of the most formidable politicians Scotland has ever produced
Like her or loathe her, Nicola Sturgeon is one of the most recognisable and formidable politicians Scotland has ever produced. Her headteacher-style presence gave Scotland prominence on the UK stage after years of being Alex Salmond's understudy. When she spoke, prime ministers did not like what they heard. But they knew they had to listen or face the Sturgeon wrath. Time after time, she rallied supporters towards a second Scottish independence referendum amid the fury of Brexit, but her strategy failed to deliver another vote. Fatigue and frustration were bubbling under the surface in the last 18 months of her time at the top. Her idea of introducing gender self-identification laws, which Holyrood passed and the UK government later blocked, further solidified her marmite character. It exposed issues within the SNP and led to cracks in her iron fist, strict discipline regime. Many of her supporters remember her stewardship of the pandemic as being "strong" while her critics see her as a divisive figure who triggered the rifts that the independence movement and the SNP are dealing with today. Weeks after stepping down as Scotland's longest-running first minister, she and her husband became embroiled in a police investigation examining finances in the SNP. Ex-SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, who has now split from Ms Sturgeon, has been charged with embezzlement, while the former first minister remains a suspect. She denies any wrongdoing but there is no doubt her personal ambitions of taking a role on the international stage has, so far, been tainted and thwarted amid her challenges. Ms Sturgeon was for close to a decade the SNP's biggest asset, but in recent years, those issues at home have become something of a liability. There will be some senior figures who will be sad to see her leave parliament, but they may be secretly and quietly breathing a sigh of relief at being able to create some distance with the past. Ms Sturgeon's biggest achievement must be the fact she won every election during her long spell as first minister. She was an electoral powerhouse. An election-winning machine whose rivals looked at in envy. She will also be remembered for introducing additional payments for children living in poverty. She has been frank about how difficult it was to adjust to life after frontline politics. It would be, given most of her adult life has been in the public eye. The collapse of her marriage also played out for all to see. One of the biggest reasons for the huge spat between Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond when he left office was his questionable choices, for example taking a job with Russian state broadcaster RT. Ms Sturgeon's career choices are less likely to create headaches for the current SNP chiefs, given one of her decisions is to appear at a forthcoming comedy festival. This news that she will leave politics altogether is not really a surprise but will come as a blow to those around her. The question is how much she and the SNP will be able to enjoy this new phase the longer the police probe looms large.
The Independent
08-03-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Ex-SNP MP Mhairi Black says neurodiversity is treated as a ‘fad'
Ex-SNP MP Mhairi Black has said that neurodiversity is treated as a 'fad', comparing it to being in the closet due to stigmatisation. In a column for The National, Ms Black, who was diagnosed with ADHD in 2018, said she kept it a secret due to 'backstabbing' in Westminster. She said there were 'similarities in how society perceives both the LGBT+ community and the neurodiverse community', including people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and Tourette's syndrome, all legally classified disabilities and protected by the Equality Act 2010. However Ms Black said 'small adjustments' were often refused, causing burnout, stress and physical illness, due to being forced to function to neurotypical expectations. Ms Black wrote: 'Every single brain is unique, but 'neurodivergent' simply means we have been able to identify patterns showing that some brains behave differently to what we consider 'typical'. I was once asked what age I was when I came out as gay, to which I replied that I was never 'in'. 'The same cannot be said for my neurodivergence. 'I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2018 but because of Westminster politics and backstabbing, I decided to keep that information between myself and the few folk I trusted. 'Now that I have left and am speaking openly about my experiences, I am struck by the similarities in how society perceives both the LGBT+ community and the neurodiverse community. 'There is an assumption that this obsession with labels is something new and that it is just a fad that is being forced upon children. As with the LGBT+ community, the neurodiverse community knows that it is not a fad. Labels give us the language to explain who we are. 'These labels should be used as a shorthand to indicate what wavelength you're on. Nothing more. 'They offer an insight into who someone is at their core and how their brain works. 'For example, if you know someone is autistic, then it can explain why you may feel they are speaking very directly. 'If you know someone has ADHD then you may afford them slightly more patience when they are late or forgetful. 'If you know a pupil is dyslexic then you know not to force them to read aloud to a classroom. 'If you know an employee struggles with sensory overload then you are more likely to understand why they would like to work from home. 'These small adjustments that make a world of difference to the person impacted by them.' She said when 'simple adjustments are not made, we start to see the long-term consequences', including 'stress, loneliness, stigma' and 'burnout' forced on people by 'holding themselves to the standards of the neurotypical'. Ms Black said that physical symptoms included headaches, stomach issues, fatigue, frequent illness, depression, anxiety and self-doubt were 'all symptoms of trying to force your brain to work like everyone else's, rather than embracing and being allowed to work with your brain'. However she said that neurodivergence was linked to increased creativity, organisation, and willingness to push boundaries, but that a 'vicious circle' meant that diagnoses were often occurring due to increased pressure on the NHS due to a failure to make 'small adjustments', and that there was no 'routinely collected reliable data' on assessment times. She added: 'Some may claim that an increase in people seeking a diagnosis proves that it is 'fashionable', but I reckon it is much more likely that we, as a society, are developing a better understanding and acceptance of neurodiversity. 'Similarly, some may say that if the NHS is already struggling with the number of neurodivergent diagnoses at the moment, then how can it be expected to cope with such an increase? 'In order to tackle a challenge you first need to know what size it is.'
