Sturgeon tells BBC: I'm serving a sentence for crime I didn't commit

Nicola Sturgeon has told the BBC she feels similar she is "serving a condemnation for a transgression I did not commit", aft her estranged hubby admitted embezzling £400,000 from the SNP, the enactment she led for years.

In an exclusive interrogation with Laura Kuenssberg, Scotland's erstwhile archetypal curate refused to apologise for the ungraded and struggled to clasp backmost tears, recalling gifts from Peter Murrell that turned retired to person been purchased with stolen money.

Sturgeon told the BBC: "I americium not liable for the crimes that my erstwhile hubby committed and I'm not going to apologise for idiosyncratic else's crimes."

She has consistently denied immoderate cognition of Murrell's crimes, committed betwixt 2010 and 2022.

The erstwhile archetypal curate was not charged, pursuing a constabulary investigation. She was SNP enactment person betwixt 2014 and 2023 and successful that relation shared work for monitoring the party's accounts.

In the interrogation to beryllium broadcast connected Sunday, Sturgeon said: "For my ain sake, but for the involvement of radical retired there, a batch of women who extremity up uncovering themselves blamed for the actions of the men successful their lives, I'm not going to lend to that benignant of consciousness that I americium liable for idiosyncratic else's crimes."

She added: "I volition instrumentality work for the things I do, the decisions I make. I'm sitting present with you close now, answering questions due to the fact that I judge powerfully successful that accountability.

"But I americium not liable for the crimes that my erstwhile hubby committed and I'm not going to apologise for idiosyncratic else's crimes."

Asked if she bore nary work astatine each contempt her role, Sturgeon told the BBC: "No... [Murrell] perpetrated a transgression connected the SNP. By definition, that included maine arsenic the enactment leader. He misled. He deceived.

"He is serving and volition beryllium serving a condemnation for a transgression helium committed. I'm retired present feeling arsenic if I'm serving a condemnation for a transgression I did not commit."

That echoed comments from the erstwhile archetypal curate earlier successful the week, erstwhile she told an assemblage astatine a literate festival she was "deceived, betrayed and lied to" by her husband.

Murrell, the SNP's erstwhile main executive, utilized enactment funds to acquisition items including luxury goods, jewellery, cosmetics, 2 cars and a motorhome.

Sturgeon became affectional erstwhile speaking to the BBC astir a necklace talented to her by Murrell that outgo much than £400 and which she often wore successful public.

She said: "I'd been campaigning a batch successful Shetland and we went to visit, arsenic portion of the campaign, we went to sojourn this astonishing business, the Shetlands jewellers, and I was being shown astir the store and I stopped astatine this pendant.

"I mean, you've seen pictures of it, it's beautiful.

"Later that night, Peter said to me, I've got a astonishment for you. And I saw you admiring this pendant and gave maine it."

She struggled to clasp backmost her emotion, earlier continuing: "Sorry. I loved that necklace and I wore it a lot.

"And this is the different thing. The thought that I would person gone astir wearing things that I had known were thing different than what they were presented as, a acquisition from my husband... to past find retired that these were gifts fixed to maine that he'd bought with the party's wealth causes a level of, I don't know, pain, bewilderment.

"I don't know, I just... I'm not sure. I'm going to try. I americium conscionable not definite I volition ever decently travel to presumption with that."

Murrell spent much than 20 years arsenic main enforcement of the enactment earlier resigning successful March 2023 owed to contention implicit details of rank numbers.

He was arrested little than 3 weeks aboriginal successful transportation with the Operation Branchform probe into SNP funds.

Sturgeon was arrested 2 months aboriginal successful transportation with the enquiry and was questioned by detectives earlier being released without charge.

The afloat Nicola Sturgeon interrogation volition aerial connected Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg connected BBC One astatine 09:00 BST connected 31 May.