Nicola Sturgeon: Scotland's first minister whose independence dreams were never realised

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Nicola Sturgeon's resignation was a surprise to many in politics - but the events that have unfolded since she left office have come as even more of a shock.Four months after her resignation, which she insisted was "not a reaction to short-term pressures", the former first minister has been arrested as part of an investigation into SNP funding and finances.Police Scotland said on Sunday that she is in custody and being quizzed by detectives.Her husband Peter Murrell - who was until recently the chief executive of the SNP - was arrested by police officers as part of a probe into party finances just a week after she tendered her resignation to the King.It will prove a headache for successor Humza Yousaf who is trying to distance himself from the scandal as his party's opinion poll ratings slide.While Mr Murrell was later released without charge pending further investigations, images of police officers searching the couple's home, with a tent erected on their front lawn, made headline news.That arrest was the first as part of Operation Branchform, which has been investigating how more than £600,000 in donations to the party earmarked for an independence referendum have been used.Colin Beattie, who had been the SNP treasurer, was also arrested as part of that investigation but like Mr Murrell was released without charge.The arrests came just after Ms Sturgeon stepped down as both first minister and SNP leader after more than eight years in the job, with the former leader swapping running the government for hobbies such as hillwalking and also learning to drive.She made history as the first woman to become first minister, and was also the longest-serving incumbent in that post - dealing with no fewer than five different