The written statement Nicola Sturgeon gave to police investigating the SNP’s finances will not be released, her lawyer has said.
Aamer Anwar, who is representing the former first minister, said that neither her written statement nor the police interview she took part in would be released.
After her arrest in 2023, Ms Sturgeon exercised her right to give a “no comment” police interview, later sending a written statement to officers.
The interview was part of Operation Branchform, which ultimately led to Ms Sturgeon’s former husband Peter Murrell being convicted of embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP during his time as chief executive.
Ms Sturgeon has said she is innocent of any wrongdoing and that she was “deceived, misled and betrayed” by Murrell, who was jailed for more than five years in June.
In a statement on Monday, seen by the Press Association, Mr Anwar said: “Ms Sturgeon’s detailed statement produced for Police Scotland was to assist them with their inquiries; not for those who think they could now do a better job than the robust ‘gold-plated’ financial crime investigation.
“Ms Sturgeon is innocent, as evidenced by the fact that she was not charged, prosecuted nor convicted of any crime.
“Having been exonerated through the proper process, there is no onus on her to now prove her innocence in the court of media opinion.
“Neither Ms Sturgeon’s written statement or her police interview will be released.”
Opponents of Ms Sturgeon said that the former SNP leader had previously said she would not be opposed to releasing her written statement to the police.
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “It was barely a month ago that Nicola Sturgeon said on national TV there was nothing in her statement that she would not want to be published.
“Yet now her lawyer has insisted that neither her written statement or her police interview will be released.
“The question is – why not?
“If Nicola Sturgeon has nothing to hide, then why is she so opposed to her statement being published?”
Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton MSP said: “This blows apart any pretence that Nicola Sturgeon is prepared to be transparent about this SNP scandal.
“There is nothing stopping her from releasing the statement she gave to the police, yet she has decided she prefers hiding behind statements from her lawyer.
“Sturgeon promised to co-operate fully with police yet sat for hours saying nothing while officers were questioning her.
“The police also made it clear that her written statement left many questions unanswered.”
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