The Scottish Conservatives have renewed their call for the Crown Office to publish the reasons why no charges were brought against Nicola Sturgeon over Operation Branchform, after John Swinney snubbed their request in parliament yesterday.
The party has published a Freedom of Information response it received last May, in which the Crown Office refused to explain its reasoning for not prosecuting Sturgeon, on the grounds that a criminal case was ongoing.
But that case concluded with her estranged husband Peter Murrell’s guilty plea on Monday to embezzling more than £400,000 of SNP party funds.
As a result, Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay insists the Lord Advocate is now duty-bound to disclose the rationale for not charging Sturgeon.
The former First Minister benefited from her husband’s lavish spending spree on cars, luxury household goods and jewellery but has claimed that she never suspected him of any wrongdoing.
Findlay said the “epic SNP scandal” had damaged public trust in the justice system and that full transparency was needed to repair it.
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: “Faith in the integrity of Scotland’s justice system has been shattered by this epic SNP scandal which reaches into the heart of government.
“Senior SNP figures publicly tried to exert undue influence on Police Scotland so was there any other meddling behind the scenes?
“And the Lord Advocate, appointed by Nicola Sturgeon, was passing sensitive information to John Swinney while the public was kept in the dark.
“The Lord Advocate has a duty to publish the reasons why only one person was prosecuted and whether Police Scotland agreed with that decision.
“An explanation should also be provided about the timing of this case which spanned five years yet ended with a guilty plea just after the election, to the SNP’s clear advantage.
“The reason given for blocking Scottish Conservative efforts to disclose this information a year ago no longer apply. To repair public confidence in Scottish justice, it’s time for full transparency.”
Notes to editors
The Scottish Conservatives previously requested the Crown Office disclose the reasons why they directed Police Scotland not to charge Nicola Sturgeon. A freedom of information request was made on 21 March 2025 asking for: ‘The direction that was provided by the Crown Office that was referred to in Police Scotland’s statement on 20 March 2025 which read: ‘Following direction from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, criminal inquiries into two people arrested as part of the investigation [Operation Branchform] into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party have now concluded. The 73-year-old man arrested on 18 April 2023 and the 54-year-old woman arrested on 11 June 2023, have not been charged and are no longer under investigation.’ (COPFS FOI, 7 May 2025, Attached).
The Crown Office refused to provide this information. The Crown Office said in response they would not provide the information because ‘it is held for the purposes of an investigation which the authority has a duty to conduct to ascertain whether a person should be prosecuted for an offence’. This exemption is set out under section 34 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (COPFS FOI, 7 May 2025, Attached).