Nicola Sturgeon: I understand why people doubt my ignorance of alleged SNP embezzlement
Nicola Sturgeon has said she fully understands why many people find it hard to believe she had no idea about alleged embezzlement within the Scottish National party given the close links to her domestic life, but has insisted this is the case,Speaking to the Guardian’s Politics Weekly UK podcast, the former Scottish first minister said her relaxed demeanour in the period directly after she stepped down as first minister, weeks before police searched the home she shared with her then husband, Peter Murrell, would have been impossible if she had suspected things were amiss,Sturgeon announced her departure in February 2023,In April that year, Murrell was arrested, with police searching the Glasgow home the couple shared, as well as the SNP’s headquarters in Edinburgh,Officers also seized a motorhome parked outside Murrell’s mother’s house in Fife.
Murrell, the SNP’s longstanding chief executive, was later charged in connection with alleged embezzlement and has not yet entered a plea,Earlier this year, police said Sturgeon was no longer under investigation,Sturgeon moved out of the couple’s home after Murrell’s arrest, and announced the end of their marriage in January this year,Asked if she could understand why many people, including SNP supporters, found it hard to believe she was oblivious to any potential wrongdoing, Sturgeon replied: “I can, absolutely,”She went on: “If I was on the outside looking into the unfolding of events in the days … after I stood down, I would struggle to believe that as well.
But trust me, I had no idea.“I knew there was an investigation, obviously, back at the point I stood down.I guess my views on the investigation were more about frustration about why it was going on for so long, rather than any real concern about where it was going to go.”In the period after she announced her decision to resign, Sturgeon said, “I was more relaxed than I’d been in years, because I knew I was making the right decision, I was looking forward to the future”.She went on: “I know people struggle to believe that politicians are human, but the idea that if I had known what was about to unfold, that I would have been able to function at all, let alone appear relaxed, is just nonsensical.
So no, I didn’t know,”Also in the interview, Sturgeon argued that the resurgence of the SNP in Scotland and Plaid Cymru in Wales, as well as that of Reform UK, could mean the UK was witnessing the gradual collapse of the union,The possible advent of a Reform government in Westminster, she said, could exacerbate tensions uncovered by Brexit, in which “there are different views or different political directions of travel between the four UK nations, then all too often it’s what England chooses that ends up dominating Wales, Scotland and to a lesser extent, but still to some extent, Northern Ireland,”Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotionThis was not a sustainable position in the long term, she said,“In the next 10, 20 years, I think we will see a complete rewiring of the UK nations.
And we will, I think, end up in a position that is something like a confederation of the British Isles or an independent Scotland, certainly a much more autonomous Wales, possibly an independent Wales [and a] reunified Ireland.”Sturgeon also defended her bill on simplifying the gender recognition process, which was blocked by Rishi Sunak’s government and is seen as playing a role in the backlash against transgender rights that eventually led to April’s landmark supreme court ruling on gender.“I know there’s lots of people who would love me to say I was totally wrong on gender recognition,” she said.“I’m not going to say that, because I don’t believe it to be the case.I am a feminist – always have been, always will be.
“I’ve championed women’s rights for as long as I’ve been in politics, and I will do it for as long as there is breath in my body, but I will never accept that that sits in conflict with also standing up for the rights of stigmatised minorities.And there’s fewer minorities in the world, not just in this country, more stigmatised than trans people.”
Three big problems with ITV’s talks to sell television business to Sky: price, politics and regulation | Nils Pratley
Do a sum-of-the-parts analysis on ITV, City analysts have been saying for years, and you can come up with valuations way above the depressed share price. It’s just a question of someone making a decent offer for one of the two halves of the corporate entity – either ITV Studios, the production side that makes programmes such as Coronation Street, or the division that actually broadcasts the content and sells the advertising slots.Now someone has turned up: Sky, which was bought by the US giant Comcast for £30bn in 2018, has made a £1.6bn approach for the broadcasting operation. ITV’s share price gained 16% on Friday but, at 78p, it still stands way below some of the misty-eyed theoretical valuations
Stock markets drop amid jitters over US economy and tech valuations – business live
Wall Street has opened in the red as jitters over the health of the US economy, and sky high tech valuations, continue to hit the markets.The Dow Jones industrial average, of 30 large US companies, has dropped by 209 points, or 0.45%, in early trading to 46,703 points.The broader S&P 500 index is down 0.6%, and the tech-focused Nasdaq has lost almost 1%
‘Musk is Tesla and Tesla is Musk’ – why investors are happy to pay him $1tn
For all the headlines about an on-off relationship with Donald Trump, baiting liberals and erratic behaviour, Tesla shareholders are loath to part with Elon Musk.Investors in the electric vehicle maker voted on Thursday to put the world’s richest person on the path to become the world’s first trillionaire, despite the controversy that is now seemingly intrinsic to his public profile.Shareholders approved the $1tn compensation plan, which could yield the largest corporate payout in history if he meets a series of tough-looking goals, not least pushing Tesla from its current market value of $1.4tn to $8.5tn (£1
How Tesla shareholders put Elon Musk on path to be world’s first trillionaire
Now that Tesla stockholders have approved a plan to offer Elon Musk close to $1tn, the clock is ticking to make the company worth eight times more than it is today.If Musk can grow Tesla to over $8tn in value for stockholders over the next decade, he will be well on his way to becoming the world’s first trillionaire.More than 75% of shareholders voted in favor of the historic compensation plan during a vote at the company’s headquarters in Austin on Thursday. After the votes were in, Musk took the stage and danced after the news was announced.“It’s not just a new chapter for Tesla,” Musk said
Norris soars to F1 São Paulo GP pole as Piastri stumbles and Verstappen flops
Lando Norris claimed pole position for the São Paulo Grand Prix, his championship ambitions backed with a real statement of intent having already secured victory in the sprint race earlier on Saturday.His success was given added impetus as both his title rivals, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, suffered disappointment in Brazil. Piastri’s championship hopes took yet another blow as he crashed out of the sprint and qualified only in fourth, while Verstappen could manage only 16th on the grid.Verstappen had already dropped points to Norris after he was fourth in the sprint for Red Bull and the British driver now has the chance to put genuine daylight on both his rivals. At this race last year Verstappen came back from 17th to win but that was in the wet and when he was not suffering from a compromised setup
Elena Rybakina sinks Aryna Sabalenka to claim WTA Finals and record prize
Elena Rybakina re-established herself as one of the significant players in women’s tennis as she closed out a week of devastating performances against the best in the world by completely overpowering Aryna Sabalenka to capture one of the biggest titles of her career at the WTA Finals in Riyadh with a 6-3, 7-6 (0) win.Having finished the season-ending tournament unbeaten in her five matches, Rybakina is now $5.235m (£3.98m) richer, earning the greatest prize money haul in the history of women’s sports. The victory marks the 26-year-old’s fourth big title after wins at Wimbledon in 2022, and Indian Wells and the Italian Open a year later
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