Nicola Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell have “decided to end” their marriage amid a embezzlement probe.
In a post on Instagram, the former first minister of Scotland said: “With a heavy heart I am confirming that Peter and I have decided to end our marriage.
“To all intents and purposes we have been separated for some time now and feel it is time to bring others up to speed with where we are.
“It goes without saying that we still care deeply for each other, and always will.
“We will be making no further comment.”
The pair had been separated for ‘some time’ but said it was time to bring others up to speed – DANNY LAWSON/PA
Ms Sturgeon and Mr Murrell have not been seen together in public in several months. He was charged with embezzlement of SNP funds in April last year, as part of a long-running investigation into SNP party finances.
At the time, Ms Sturgeon described the allegations facing her husband as “extremely difficult”.
The former first minister was herself arrested in connection with the probe in June 2023 and prosecutors have not yet said whether she will face any charges.
She strongly denies any wrongdoing, while Mr Murrell has not publicly addressed the allegations against him.
The pair first met at SNP youth events in the late 1980s and married at the Oran Mor venue in Glasgow’s West End in 2010.
Peter Murrell was charged with embezzlement of SNP funds in April 2024 – Wattie Cheung
Mr Murrell became the long-serving chief executive of the SNP in 2001 and was seen to play a significant role in transforming the party from the political fringes to the dominant force in Scottish politics.
He remained in the role after Ms Sturgeon succeeded Alex Salmond as party leader and First Minister in 2014.
At the time, they ignored concerns from some senior figures, including Mr Salmond, who expressed misgivings about the appropriateness of having a married couple in the party’s two most senior positions.
Mr Murrell’s more than two-decade tenure as chief executive came to an ignominious end in March 2023 when he was accused of misleading the public over party membership figures.
The following month, the Glasgow home the pair shared was searched by detectives and Mr Murrell was arrested.
Ms Sturgeon has previously avoided discussing the state of her marriage amid the police probe, telling an Edinburgh Fringe event in August 2023, that it was “not something anyone should worry about”.
Before the scandal erupted, Ms Sturgeon described Mr Murrell as “her rock”.
Nicola Sturgeon has also been questioned in the probe – Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Europe
The police investigation began in 2021 after independence supporters claimed that funds that had been donated for referendum campaigns which never happened had gone “missing” from party accounts.
In a leaked video, Ms Sturgeon was seen attempting to reassure the party’s ruling body in March 2021 that there was no issue with the party’s finances.
But police revealed the investigation later “moved beyond” the initial allegations with Colin Beattie, then the party treasurer, also being arrested. Like Ms Sturgeon, Mr Beattie has not been charged with any crime but remains under investigation.
There has been speculation that a decision on the next stage in the investigation could be imminent, with high profile Scottish lawyers warning that Mr Murrell could claim his human rights are being breached due to the length of time it is taking.
Roddy Dunlop, the dean of the Faculty of Advocates, said at the weekend that defendants had a right to a fair trial within a “reasonable time”.
“In general, the ‘reasonable time’ requirement is triggered once the accused is charged, and not when [s]he is merely arrested. So the ‘reasonable time’ requirement is running for Mr Murrell.”
He added: “What is a ‘reasonable time’ is fact-sensitive, and turns on the complexity of the matters in question. There is no fixed time limit as such.”
Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon ahead of a five-day election campaign tour in 2015 – Ken Jack/Alamy Stock Photo
Thomas Ross, another leading KC, said earlier this month: “It’s not accurate to say, so far as Mr Murrell is concerned, that it can go on for ever. The clock is definitely running so far as he’s concerned.
“The prosecution know if they take too long to prosecute him, whenever the case comes to court, he can argue, ‘Well, I can’t get a fair trial any longer because you delayed in bringing the case to court’.”
Ms Sturgeon has previously declined invitations to state whether she believes her husband is guilty or innocent.
Under Scots law, Ms Sturgeon can still be called as a witness to the trail regardless of whether or not she is married to Mr Murrell.
While it was previously the case that wives and husbands could refuse to testify against their spouse, the “loophole” was scrapped by the SNP in 2010.
Under the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010, spouses and civil partners of accused were made “competent and compellable witnesses for the prosecution” under provisions that meant they were to be treated “no differently from any other witness”.