SCOTTISH Tory leader Russell Findlay has questioned the timing of Nicola Sturgeon’s public split from her husband Peter Murrell, suggesting it may be “connected” to the police probe into the SNP.
On Monday, the former first minister announced in a post on Instagram that her and Murrell’s marriage was to end.
As SNP leader and chief executive, Sturgeon and Murrell respectively were seen as the most powerful couple in Scottish politics for almost a decade. The news of their split was on the front pages of most Scottish newspapers on Tuesday.
It came some nine months after Murrell was charged in connection with embezzlement amid the ongoing Operation Branchform – the police probe into the SNP’s finances.
On Tuesday, Findlay gave a speech in which he hit out at Labour and the SNP in a bid to position his Conservative group for the 2026 Holyrood elections.
Asked afterwards about Sturgeon and Murrell’s split, Findlay suggested it was “calculated”.
“I've got a calculator on the phone that's perhaps less calculating than the former first minister,” he said.
“[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."
Sturgeon has been arrested, questioned and released without charge amid the ongoing probe. Earlier this month, leading Scottish defence KC Thomas Leonard Ross predicted she would not now be charged.
Former SNP MP Tommy Sheppard has branded Findlay a "fantasist" for suggesting the timing of Sturgeon's announcement is linked to the investigation.
"To hint that the timing of the announcement on separation is linked to Branchform is nonsense," he told the Record.
"Branchform has got nothing to do with it. Russell Findlay is a fantasist."
Elsewhere after his speech on Tuesday, Findlay took questions from journalists and was asked about the growing challenge of Reform UK.
A new Scotland-only Westminster poll published earlier in the day put his party on 13% of the vote, to Reform UK’s 15%.
Findlay said he is focused on fighting for people in Scotland, saying: “Any vote for any other party can only help the SNP. It’s critical that we get that message across.”
During his speech, Findlay took aim at Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s decision to abstain on the upcoming Budget vote in the Scottish Parliament, meaning it will almost certainly pass.
Findlay said his Scottish Labour counterpart is “another template politician who only seems driven by personal ambition,” adding that the Tories are the only party standing up to the SNP.
During his speech, Findlay said he would focus on the theme of justice, beyond the “narrow definition” of the justice system.
He argued that only his party has politics that significantly differ from the SNP on the economy, education and housing.
Turning his fire on the First Minister, he said: “John Swinney’s career has been driven by one thing – his desire to break up the United Kingdom.
“On practically every other issue, he’s chopped and changed principles, discarded values and altered his views.
“He was a firm backer of Alex Salmond, then became Nicola Sturgeon’s staunchest ally.”
