STURGEON I didn't know about police probe and it's not reason I walked away

She says events are beyond worst nightmare. But she insists the SNP is still in good shape

- CHRIS MCCALL

NICOLA Sturgeon has branded the crisis engulfing the SNP as beyond her "worst nightmares" but denied she quit because of a police probe.

The former first minister also insisted she had not spoken to detectives about a long-running investigation into the party's finances, one which saw her husband, the former chief executive of the SNP, arrested.

Sturgeon spoke to journalists at the Scottish Parliament yesterday for the first time since her home was searched by officers earlier this month.

She shocked the political world in February when she announced her intention to resign as first minister and SNP leader after eight years in charge.

"I understand the view that some people might have, that I knew this was all about to unfold and that's why I walked away, the MSP for Glasgow Southside said.

"Nothing could be further from the truth. I could not have anticipated in my worst nightmares what would have unfolded over the past few weeks.

Police Scotland launched Operation Branchform in 2021 following several complaints from the public over how the SNP had spent donations that had been ring-fenced for independence campaigning.

Peter Murrell, the former SNP chief executive and Sturgeon's husband, was questioned by detectives for several hours on April 6 before being released without charge.

The couple's house near Glasgow was also extensively searched by officers on the same day.