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by Staff Reporter
13 May 2024
Police to hand SNP report to prosecutors within weeks, Chief Constable says

Police at the home of Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell in April 2023 | Alamy

Police to hand SNP report to prosecutors within weeks, Chief Constable says

Prosecutors will receive the police report on charges against ex-SNP chief executive Peter Murrell within weeks, Scotland's  top officer has said.

Chief Constable Jo Farrell declined to say whether any other person will face charges in relation to Operation Branchform, the long-running probe into SNP finances.

Murrell, the husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, was charged in relation to the investigation last month.

It began as a probe into the use of donations by the party.

Murrell is the only individual to have been charged, with this relating to alleged embezzlement of party funds.

Speaking to STV News, Farrell said Operation Branchform, which primarily focused on £600,000 raised to campaign for independence, is "not finished" and remains live.

When asked when a report will be sent to the Crown Office, which will consider whether or not to proceed with a prosecution, Farrell said: "I anticipate that will happen in a matter of weeks."

Farrell told the broadcaster she agrees with her predecessor, Sir Iain Livingston, that the single force is institutionally racist, but said the "vast majority" of personnel "withhold the standards we would expect of them in policing".

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