NICOLA Sturgeon said she is not responsible for the crimes committed by her estranged husband, former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell.
In an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Scotland's former first minister added that she feels like she is “serving a sentence for a crime I did not commit,” adding that she is “not going to apologise for somebody else's crimes” after .
Sturgeon’s comments come after Murrell pleaded guilty this week to embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP between 2010 and 2022. He is set to be sentenced in June.
The 61-year-old spent the money on items including a motorhome, cars, kitchen gadgets, expensive watches and pens, and more mundane purchases such as hand cream and toilet seats.
Sturgeon has denied any knowledge of Murrell's crimes, committed between 2010 and 2022, and was the SNP party leader between 2014 and 2023. The former first minister was not charged, following a police investigation.
Sturgeon told Kuenssberg that Murrell, who served as the SNP chief executive from 2001 to 2023, “misled” and “deceived” the party.
She said: “For my own sake, but for the sake of people out there, a lot of women who end up finding themselves blamed for the actions of the men in their lives, I'm not going to contribute to that kind of sense that I am responsible for somebody else's crimes.”
Sturgeon added: “I will take responsibility for the things I do, the decisions I make. I'm sitting here with you right now, answering questions because I believe strongly in that accountability.
“But I am not responsible for the crimes that my former husband committed and I'm not going to apologise for somebody else's crimes.”
Asked if she believed she should bear no responsibility in Murrell’s crimes, Sturgeon told the BBC: “No... [Murrell] perpetrated a crime on the SNP. By definition, that included me as the party leader. He misled. He deceived.
“He is serving and will be serving a sentence for a crime he committed. I'm out here feeling as if I'm serving a sentence for a crime I did not commit.”
Sturgeon previously said she had been “completely cleared and exonerated” by police and that she had been lied to by her former husband.
The former first minister's interview comes after the SNP faced calls this week for an independent inquiry into its finances.
A Westminster committee is also considering opening an inquiry after Murrell’s conviction, after MPs urged for “wider institutional questions” to be answered.
The Scottish Affairs Committee chair confirmed the group would consider the calls after shadow Scottish secretary Andrew Bowie said there is now a “compelling argument” for a Westminster inquiry, with First Minister John Swinney refusing to support one at Holyrood.
