Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf has said he will not suspend his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon from the SNP following her arrest on Sunday.
The former first minister has said she is “innocent of any wrongdoing” after she was released without charge as part of a police investigation into the party’s finances.
Mr Yousaf told BBC Scotland Ms Sturgeon’s arrest was “personally painful”.
He said: “I’ll not suspend Nicola’s membership. I’ll treat her in the same way I’ve treated, for example, Colin Beattie.
“Those that have been released without charge, I see no reason to suspend their membership.”
The former SNP leader said she has found the situation both “a shock and deeply distressing” and thanked people for sending messages of support.
Ms Sturgeon’s arrest comes after her husband Peter Murrell was arrested in April.
Mr Murrell and MSP Colin Beattie, who was SNP treasurer at the time, were both released without charge pending further inquiry.
