Humza Yousaf, the First Minister of Scotland and the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), has announced that he will not suspend Nicola Sturgeon from the party, despite her arrest on Sunday. Sturgeon, who was the previous First Minister and SNP leader, was arrested and released without charge as part of a police investigation into SNP finances. She has denied any wrongdoing and said she is innocent.

Yousaf said he saw no reason to suspend a party member who has been released without charge, and that he would treat Sturgeon in the same way as other SNP members who were arrested in connection with the same investigation, such as Colin Beattie and Peter Murrell. He also said he had a long-standing friendship with Sturgeon and that her arrest was personally painful for him.

However, some SNP parliamentarians have called for Sturgeon to resign the party whip and to distance herself from the party while the investigation continues. They have argued that her arrest has damaged the party’s reputation and credibility. Opposition parties have also urged Yousaf to follow his own precedent and suspend Sturgeon from the SNP.