Operation Branchform 'hold up' not our fault, claims Police Scotland

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Police Scotland has denied it is responsible for any "hold up" in Operation Branchform.The national constabulary has issued the same statement to reporters for weeks whenever it is asked for an update on the long-running investigation into SNP finances.And the force has stood by its position following comments this week from Scotland's most senior judge on an apparent "hold up" in the case.Lord Carloway, who retires from his role as head of the judiciary next month, made clear in an interview he knew “absolutely nothing” about Operation Branchform.

But he added: "I don’t know where the hold up is, whether it’s with the police or the Crown Office. It looks as though there is a hold up, yes."When the judge's comments were put to the police, a spokesperson said: "On August 9, 2024, we presented the findings of the investigation to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and we await their direction on what further action should be taken."Operation Branchform was launched by Police Scotland in July 2021 to investigate how more than £600,000 of donations to the SNP to fight a second independence referendum were ultimately spent.The case became UK-wide news in April 2023 when officers searched a home belonging to Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell for two days.

The SNP HQ in Edinburgh was also searched. Sturgeon, who was questioned by detectives in 2023 before being released without charge, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing .

Murrell was arrested and charged with embezzlement last year. Prosecutors have yet to announce whether he will face trial.The former first minister announced earlier this month she had separated from her husband.A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) told the