Richard Kay: Interesting clues about what’s really behind the sudden breakup of the SNP’s (very) odd couple who ruled Scotland with an iron fist

As with former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, the announcement was smug, cryptic and full of volume.

It’s been nearly two years since she resigned as First Minister of Scotland, and she has also quit her marriage. But while stepping down from high office was a political shock, her decision to leave her husband of 14 years was not so unexpected.

For most women, especially at the reflective age of 54, separation is a time of quiet reflection and even sadness.

Instead, in an Instagram post yesterday, Ms Sturgeon confirmed they had been living apart for some time, cheekily adding: “It’s time to let others know what’s going on with us.” There was a refreshing atmosphere. .

But for those who know Ms Sturgeon, the brevity of the statement is matched by curiosity about where and with whom she will appear next.

As revealed by the Mail today, she is spending time at a house owned by best-selling crime author Val McDiarmid.

The former journalist, who proudly describes herself in X as “Scottish,” “lesbian” and “feminist,” has made no secret of her admiration for Sturgeon.

Mr McDiarmid, who is married to geography professor Joe Sharp, praised Ms Sturgeon’s “clarity and courage” in her decision to impose a lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last April, the pair shared the red carpet at the LGBTQIA Divas Awards in London, where Ms Sturgeon was photographed without her wedding ring.

We also hold “In Conversation” events where guests can talk about their love of books with literary guests. Further dates are planned for March.

Ms Sturgeon was seen leaving Ms McDiarmid’s £320,000 flat in Edinburgh’s fashionable New Town area on January 4.

The day before, Ms Sturgeon posted a photo of Edinburgh Castle on Instagram with the caption: “One day Edinburgh, when you really melted the hearts of Glasgow.”

However, rumors about Sturgeon’s personal life have been swirling for some time.

Two years ago, naughty social media gossip about her romantic relationship with an unnamed member of the French diplomatic corps exploded into the public eye.

At the time, she tried to dismiss the story with characteristic humor, saying that reading accounts of her personal life “sound much more fascinating, much more exciting.”

When asked directly on a BBC podcast which French diplomat she had an affair with, she replied: “I’ll tell you which one it was off camera, but whichever it was, we actually laughed about it.”

“You might think this is not the most persuasive denial given the circumstances. Still, she said that her desire for privacy and “life’s little pleasures” was part of the reason she resigned as prime minister. He pointed out that it is.

Mr. McDiarmid was more direct. She described rumors about her friend as “vindictive gossip” and added: “She has been the focus of not only criticism but also lies.” I think that’s very unpleasant.

“Sturgeon and Murrell are two of the most formidable and powerful figures in Scottish politics, and their relationship has troubled both critics and some allies.” But over the past two years it has eroded dramatically. It was done.

Back in April 2023, a Police Scotland investigation into the SNP’s finances culminated in a two-day raid of the couple’s modest home in Glasgow.

As part of the search, a blue forensic tent was erected in front of the property and a luxury motorhome, believed to be worth around £110,000, was seized from outside Sturgeon’s mother-in-law’s house in Dunfermline.

That same month, Murrell was arrested and later charged with embezzling party donations in April last year.

His estranged wife, who was arrested in June 2023, is being investigated as part of Operation Branchform, but has not been charged. Although she strongly denies any wrongdoing, Murrell has not publicly addressed the allegations against her.

For those who have been following every development of this extraordinary story, the next installment will be a memoir in which Sturgeon writes about her nine years as First Minister and her bitter falling out with her former leader and mentor Alex Salmond. It was expected that this would happen.

It is scheduled to be published within this year. Instead, a purple background with the heading “Personal” displayed her statement about her marriage.

She said: “It is with heavy hearts that I confirm that Peter and I have made the decision to end our marriage.” By all accounts, we have been apart for some time and have not told others I feel that the time has come to let people know about our current situation.

“Needless to say, we still care deeply about each other and always will. We have no further comment to make.”

A week ago, Sturgeon appeared to admit that politics had affected her relationship with Murrell, telling the Financial Times:

“However, her interview prompted a rare public statement from Alex Salmond’s widow Moira, who referred to comments about Ms Sturgeon’s behavior towards staff and colleagues, calling the attack “extremely inappropriate”. He suggested that it was “fair.”

Allies of the Alba leader, who died suddenly last year, have questioned whether the marriage report was a not-so-subtle attempt to deflect criticism of Sturgeon.

To the public, Ms Murrell was the other half of a quiet marriage that had no children, but suffered heartbreak when Ms Sturgeon miscarried in 2010. But behind the scenes Mr Murrell, who is six years older than Mr Sturgeon, was in every way his wife’s equal.

They first met at an SNP youth event in the late 1980s. She remembered him as “Mr. Gadgetman.” This is because he had a habit of wearing electronic devices on his belt.

It wasn’t exactly a promising start, but by the early 2000s, romance was blossoming.

The relationship was formally confirmed in 2004, at which point Murrell became SNP chief executive, propelling the party from the fringes to the center of Scottish politics. Mr Murrell remained in the post after Mr Sturgeon succeeded Mr Salmond following the failure of the 2014 independence referendum.

To show that they are an otherwise normal couple, they invited Good Morning Britain’s television cameras into their home. But if the purpose of this training was to make them seem more human, it wasn’t a great success.

The four-bedroom property’s kitchen was immaculate, with only the very expensive £1,400 coffee machine appearing to be in regular use.

As presenter Susanna Reid walked around, she was struck by the near-clinical level of cleanliness. “It’s immaculate,” she said, “like a show home.”

“Rather than humanizing them, I was struck by the fact that they were a bit of an odd couple. But, of course, politics and the dream of Scottish independence were their whole life. There was something equally clinical about the way they kept both nations captive for so long.

It was later claimed that some SNP bigwigs were uncomfortable with the iron grip the pair had within the party. But if Mr Salmond, who left the party in 2018 after being accused of sexual assault and later acquitted, was dissatisfied with the deal, he did not say so publicly.

When Ms Sturgeon, wearing an ivory halter-neck dress and silver tiara, and Ms Murrell, who wore a kilt, married in a civil ceremony in 2010, the then prime minister was among the guests. To emphasize their nationalist status, their wedding cake was made by Tunnock’s, a Scottish confectionery shop famous for its tea cakes.

They became the model for a home-based workaholic couple whose entertainment was takeaways and television in India. ”

The fact that we are on a first-name basis with the person who delivers on Friday nights should not be allowed to read anything into my lifestyle,” Ms Sturgeon complained to Susanna Reid. He spoke while whispering.

Ms Sturgeon also revealed that she had ironed her husband’s shirt on Sunday night. The reason is, “Doing that frees me up from other household tasks, because in my head, that’s who I am, and I’ve been trying my best to do household chores in the house.” ‘Housework’. She added, a little embarrassed. “I wasn’t very good at working in the kitchen.”

All she could always do was point out the impressive victories she and her husband, whom she called “the rock,” had won during their time as elected politicians.

She led a party that won 56 of the 59 seats contested in the 2015 general election. That same year, her approval rating reached 71 percent, the highest of any leader in the Western world, and she gave such a solid performance in the televised leadership debate that many British viewers Can I vote for the SNP?” I Googled.

But you’ll rarely get a glimpse of their married life behind their front door over the years.

It is not the first time that their marriage of convenience has broken down, but it may be the first time that it has self-destructed by collaborating with the independence movement of which they were once central.

Additional reporting: Gavin Madeley from Glasgow