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Hello and welcome to Coffee House Scots.

I'm Katie Balls and I'm joined by Michael Gove and Michael Simmons to Michael's.

And today we're going to be talking about the news that Nicola Sturgeon has announced that she is officially separating and ending her marriage to Peter Morel, who held a senior role within the SMP.

Michael Gove, to begin with you, were you surprised to hear this news posted on Instagram by the former First Minister?

I don't think many people would be surprised. I think it was an open secret that Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon were no longer living as a couple that she had left

what had been their family home. Obviously, this follows in the wake of the police investigation into the

SMP's finances, Operation Branch form, which resulted in Peter Morrill being

arrested. And I think it's also the case that Nicholas Sturgeon made it clear at the time that she

stood down, which was before the police investigation began, that she wanted to move on with a new

phase in her life. So obviously it's a sadness whenever any marriage ends, but in this sense, it's probably

the public setting of a seal on what was a widely accepted separation between the two.

And of course, the backdrop to this is Operation Branch Form and the fact that I think over

1.8 million pounds now spent on that investigation in Scotland into potential S&P fraud, over £600,000 of donations.

And Nicola Sturgeon's husband, soon to not be husband, he has actually been charged.

Nicholas Sturgeon was arrested, but then let go.

What do we expect to happen here?

Do you think this is going to pick up pace, Michael?

Well, the troubling thing, you know, about the police investigation that's now sat with the Crown Office to decide, you know, what happened next, is basically that nobody really understands why it's been going on for so long.

...