Sturgeon: I could not have anticipated SNP’s troubles ‘in my worst nightmares’

“I understand the view that some people might have, that I knew this was all about to unfold and that’s why I walked away."

Former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon talking to media as she returns to the Scottish Parliament (Andrew Milligan/PA)

An emotional Nicola Sturgeon has told reporters at Holyrood she could not have anticipated the events the SNP has faced in the police investigation into its finances in her “worst nightmares”.

The former Scottish first minister appeared in public at the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday for the first time since her husband, former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, was arrested on April 5 before being released without charge pending further investigation.