JOHN Swinney has said Nicola Sturgeon’s privacy should be “respected” – after the Scottish Tory leader linked the end of her marriage to a police investigation into the SNP.
On Tuesday, Russell Findlay suggested that Sturgeon’s announcement that her and Peter Murrell’s marriage was ending had been “calculated”.
In an apparent reference to the ongoing Operation Branchform, he added: “[Sturgeon] doesn’t do very much at all without a reason.
“I guess it may well be connected to ongoing issues that are happening elsewhere. I guess time will soon tell."
Asked about the comments by media on Wednesday, Swinney declined to directly respond.
However, he said that people’s privacy should be respected through what would be a “very sad process”.
The First Minister said: “All I will say about this is the end of any relationship is a very sad process and, of necessity, a private process.
“I think those circumstances should be respected and I’ve got nothing to say about Russell Findlay’s comments.”
He then added: "I think we should just respect people’s privacy.
“However high-profile people are in life, they’ve got an entitlement to a private life and I think we should respect people in their space to do so.”
Sturgeon announced her split from Murrell in an Instagram post on Monday, saying that the two had been living “separate lives” for some time.
The pair had been together since 2003, and married since 2010. While she was first minister, he served as chief executive of the SNP – making the two the most powerful couple in Scottish politics for almost a decade.
Murrell was charged in connection with embezzlement in April 2024, but the police probe remains ongoing.
Elsewhere, the First Minister also said that Alex Salmond's family should be allowed to grieve in peace.
Swinney was asked about comments made to the BBC on Sunday when he said Salmond could "be quite brisk with people and sometimes we all witnessed that".
The late Alba leader's widow Moira then released a statement calling the comments "unfair and distressing".
Asked by media about his comments on Wednesday, Swinney said: “I do believe that those who are grieving should be allowed to grieve in peace.”
“I responded to a question put to me on Sunday. I said what I said and I have nothing to add to it.”
Swinney’s comments came as he delivered a speech on tackling child poverty in Stirling.
The First Minister said that the five countries with the world’s lowest child poverty rates were Denmark, Slovenia, Finland, Czechia, and Norway. Noting that these were all small, independent, European nations, Swinney asked why Scotland could not do the same.
“I believe with every fibre of my being that the more decisions we take here in Scotland, the better for Scotland, because no one cares more about this country than the people who live here,” he said.
