Scotland’s top civil servant was notified about the arrest of Peter Murrell, the husband of Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, shortly after it occurred, as stated in an email. The email, sent by John-Paul Marks, the Scottish government’s permanent secretary, to First Minister Humza Yousaf, reveals that Chief Constable Iain Livingstone contacted Mr Marks at 08:00 on April 5, informing him of Mr Murrell’s custody. The police had arrived at the Glasgow residence of Mr Murrell and Ms Sturgeon around 25 minutes earlier, with a police press release later being issued at approximately 09:30am.
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The email, released by the Scottish government under freedom of information laws, discloses that Mr Marks viewed it as routine for Chief Constable Livingstone to keep him informed about significant Police Scotland (PS) activities. In the email, Mr Marks informed Mr Yousaf that the suspect had been arrested and taken into custody for questioning under caution, following a prior agreement with the Crown Office. He noted that he had informed Mr Yousaf after the arrest had occurred, as per routine, with explicit permission from the Chief Constable. Mr Marks further stated that any communication regarding Operation Branchform, the investigation into SNP finances, should solely be through him, as decided with the Chief Constable.
