Nicola Sturgeon has said she was ‘not even considered for prosecution’ as authorities investigated money missing from the SNP.

The former First Minister was arrested and questioned by police in June 2023 as part of Operation Branchform, which led to her estranged husband Peter Murrell being jailed.

The 61-year-old, who was the chief executive of the party, was sentenced to five years and three months in prison in June after pleading guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP.

Ms Sturgeon was released from police custody without being charged, and she declared she had been ‘totally cleared’.

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the former SNP leader said: ‘I have been utterly cleared after a very stressful two-year investigation, totally cleared, was not even considered for prosecution.’

She was asked if she should apologise after Murrell’s crimes but said while she was ‘very, very, very sorry that it had happened’ she would not beg forgiveness on someone else’s crime.

Nicola Sturgeon ahead of a talk at the Edinburgh International Book Festival

Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged – and jailed – husband Peter Murrell

Acknowledging she was ‘more sorry than I can ever find words really to properly convey’, she added: ‘I have been a member of the SNP since I was 16 years old, the SNP is my extended family, I love it, and I don’t say that lightly.

‘So the idea that somebody so close to me, who also had that relationship with the party, could do what he did, affects me on a level that I find quite difficult to articulate.’

But she said it was an ‘important point of principle’ that she should not apologise for her ex’s crimes.

Ms Sturgeon explained: ‘I actually think it is important for others, women, because it will often be women who find themselves having to carry the can for the actions of men.

‘I can say I am very sorry that it happened, but I don’t think it is for me to apologise for the crimes of somebody else because they are not my crimes.’

She continued: ‘I will always be accountable for my own actions, but I will not say sorry for somebody else’s mistakes, or in this case crimes.’

Appearing with former Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin, the women reflected on how they believe women in politics are judged differently from their male counterparts.

Nicola Sturgeon (left) and former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin

Ms Sturgeon said: ‘The reality is women in politics, in leadership, public life are treated differently. We are judged by different criteria.

‘We will often get very harsh commentary on what we wear, how we look, what our hair is like. Attributes that in men are seen as strength in women will often be seen as character flaws.

‘And that’s been the case throughout my entire time in politics – but I think today women, young women in particular, receive a torrent of abuse, sexism and misogyny that is much worse than when I was growing up in politics and is much more able to get to young women because of social media.’

Ms Marin, who had a young child when she became prime minister of Finland in 2019, said: ‘Men are never asked “how can you be a leader when you have a small child at home”.’

She added: ‘Of course women are judged still differently than men, we are judged through this moral lens.

‘I think it is a trap, it is a trap for women that we cannot succeed and we have to push back.’