HUMZA: NO CONSPIRACY

First Minister denies SNP in cahoots with police but admits governance of party was not as it should be

- CHRIS McCALL

HUMZA Yousaf yesterday denied the SNP was "in cahoots" with Police Scotland over the timing of the arrest of its former chief executive.

Peter Murrell, the husband of Nicola Sturgeon, was quizzed by detectives for several hours on Wednesday before being released without charge.

Dozens of officers also searched the SNP's HQ in Edinburgh as well as the house belonging to Murrell and Sturgeon in Glasgow.

The raids were carried out during the Scottish Parliament's Easter recess and just a week after Yousaf was announced as the new leader of the SNP. They were part of a long-running police probe into SNP finances.

Former Scottish Government minister Alex Neil said yesterday he thought Yousaf would have found it "much more difficult to win the leadership race if "all of that had happened prior to the ballot opening".

The new SNP leader emerged victorious after a close race with ex-finance secretary Kate Forbes.

The Record yesterday asked Yousafif speculation over the timing of the police probe had called the leadership result into question.

He said: "To me, that sounds like a conspiracy theory that somehow we were in cahoots with Police Scotland around the timing. The timing of any investigation is absolutely for Police Scotland. It's not determined by anybody else." But Yousaf admitted that SNP members would be feeling "bruised" following recent events.

He added: "There was a six-week battle that took place, a battle of ideas, in terms of policy positions, and the members put their trust in me.