Image source, PA Media Image caption,

Police searched the Glasgow home on Ms Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell on on 5 and 6 April

By Stuart Nicolson

BBC Scotland News

Nicola Sturgeon has been released without charge pending further investigations after being arrested by police investigating the SNP's finances.

It was the latest remarkable twist in Police Scotland's ongoing Operation Branchform inquiry.

The former first minister was taken into custody and questioned by detectives at a police station after she attended voluntarily shortly after 10:00 on Sunday 11 June.

Officers had up to 12 hours from the time Ms Sturgeon was arrested before they had to decide whether to charge her with a crime or release her while their enquiries continue.

In the end, she was released from custody at about 17:25 on the same day - well before the deadline expired and just over seven hours since her arrest.

Police release Nicola Sturgeon without charge

Shorty afterwards, she published a statement on Twitter saying that she knew "beyond doubt that I am innocent of any wrongdoing".