Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s former first minister, rejects any blame for her estranged husband’s embezzlement of Scottish National Party funds

LONDON — Scotland’s former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon defiantly rejected any blame Sunday for her estranged husband’s embezzlement of Scottish National Party funds, saying she wouldn’t apologize for his crimes.

Sturgeon told the BBC that she felt betrayed by the actions of her husband, Peter Murrell, who last week pleaded guilty to stealing more than 400,000 pounds ($540,000) from the SNP to fund a lavish lifestyle when he was the party’s chief executive. She consistently denied having any knowledge of his crimes.

“I am not responsible for the crimes that my former husband committed,’’ she told the BBC. “I’m not going to apologize for somebody else’s crimes.”

Sturgeon’s comments came as she pushed back against widespread disbelief about her previous statements that she knew nothing about Murrell’s crimes. The case has heightened concerns about the accountability of U.K. politicians after a series of scandals that has eroded trust in government at all levels.

Many critics have also questioned why Murrell was allowed to remain chief executive of the SNP after Sturgeon became party leader in 2014. Sturgeon acknowledged that this was a mistake.

“Of course, with hindsight, I wish that I could go back and take a different decision,” she said.

Murrell’s plea capped a five-year police investigation of the SNP, which has led Scotland’s semiautonomous government for almost two decades while campaigning for the country to break away from the United Kingdom.

Turmoil within the SNP exploded in 2023, as questions swirled about the party’s finances and dwindling membership numbers.

Sturgeon led the Scottish government for almost a decade but abruptly resigned as first minister in February 2023. Observers were bewildered by her statement at the time that she knew in her “head and in my heart” that it was the right time to go.

The following month, Murrell quit his job after two decades as SNP chief executive and took responsibility for misleading the news media about the collapse in party membership. In April, police arrested him at the couple’s home in Glasgow.

Sturgeon was arrested in June of 2023 and l ater cleared by police.