Nicola Sturgeon says police investigation was 'mental torture' - in memoir that addresses sexuality and miscarriage

Nicola Sturgeon has opened up astir the "mental torture" of being investigated by constabulary successful her caller book.

Frankly, which volition beryllium published connected Thursday, besides details her miscarriage successful 2010 and rumours astir an matter with a pistillate French ambassador to the UK.

In an excerpt published successful The Times, Ms Sturgeon, 55, describes 11 June 2023 - the time she was arrested and questioned by constabulary - arsenic the "worst of my life".

The erstwhile archetypal curate was investigated aft her ex-husband Peter Murrell, the erstwhile main enforcement and treasurer of the Scottish National Party (SNP), was arrested and charged with embezzlement.

The couple's location was searched arsenic the constabulary probed £660,000 that had gone missing from enactment accounts, but the probe into Ms Sturgeon and her workfellow Colin Beatie was yet dropped.

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Having gone to the northbound eastbound of Scotland to enactment with a person during that time, she recalls: "I spent hours looking retired crossed the North Sea. At first, I wanted to someway vanish into its vastness. Slowly but surely, though, the oversea calmed me."

The pursuing twelvemonth was filled with "dread and anxiety", she says, with nary updates connected the case, until Mr Murrell was re-arrested and charged successful April 2024.

"I clasp some religion successful and respect for our country's transgression justness system. However, nary of that changes this fact: being the taxable of a high-profile transgression probe for astir 2 years, particularly having committed nary crime, was similar a signifier of intelligence torture," she says.

She was told she would look nary further enactment connected 20 March 2025 - a period aft she and Mr Murrell announced their separation.

Went to enactment contempt miscarriage 'agony'

The memoir besides details a miscarriage she suffered successful 2010. She returned backmost to enactment consecutive after, having to be a memorial lawsuit contempt being successful "constant agony".

She says she felt "conflicted" astir becoming a genitor - but lone realised "belatedly" that she "wanted to beryllium pregnant" erstwhile she was successful infirmary having an urgent scan aft telling a flu jab caregiver she had noticed spots of blood.

The nonaccomplishment of the gestation was confirmed 4 days aboriginal connected 4 January 2011.

"I had the beingness of caput to telephone Peter into the bath and, together, we flushed our 'baby' down the toilet. We aboriginal resolved to effort again, but I knew past that we had mislaid our 1 chance," she recalls.

Ms Sturgeon, who served arsenic archetypal curate betwixt 2014 and 2023, besides addressed mendacious rumours that she had a lesbian matter with erstwhile French ambassador to the UK Catherine Colonna successful 2020.

While the lies "got nether her skin", she adds: "Long-term relationships with men person accounted for much than 30 years of my life, but I person ne'er considered sexuality, my ain included, to beryllium binary. Moreover, intersexual relationships should beryllium backstage matters."

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