Nicola Sturgeon announces onstage appearance at comedy festival

Nicola Sturgeon is to make her debut at a leading comedy festival, two days after being cleared by a police investigation into embezzlement claims in the SNP.

The former first minister and the crime author Val McDermid will appear at the Kings Theatre in Glasgow later, for a performance called Books and Banter.

The duo will be joined by actor, writer and comedian Ashley Storrie - the daughter of Sturgeons late friend Janey Godley - and the novelist Christopher Brookmyre.

On Thursday Ms Sturgeon said she was "relieved" and felt "a bit of vindication" after police confirmed she was no longer a suspect in their long-running investigation into the SNPs finances - called Operation Branchform.

Her estranged husband Peter Murrell, the former SNP chief executive, appeared on the same day at Edinburgh Sheriff Court where he made no plea to a charge of embezzlement.

The couple announced they had separated and planned to end their marriage earlier this year.

Sturgeons Glasgow Comedy Festival appearance was first announced last November and comes after she previously held a number of "in conversation with" events across the country with Ms McDermid.

The event synopsis says the duo and their guests will be discussing a shared passion for literature and chat about books they have "loved and loathed".

Announcing the show, Ms McDermid and Ms Sturgeon previously said: "Revelations galore await as we explore the love and laughter between the covers."

Despite the mention of revelations, it is unlikely the former SNP leader, who served as Scotlands first minister for nine years from 2014 until 2023, will discuss anything relating to the Operation Branchform case.

She was arrested and then released without charge in June 2023, and on Thursday said there had been a "cloud of investigation" hanging over her since then.

Speaking to journalists outside her Glasgow home she said: "I think it wont surprise anybody to hear me say that has not been an easy experience. So to reach this point today is obviously something I am relieved about.

"I have done nothing wrong, and I dont think there was ever a scrap of evidence that I had done anything wrong."

Ms Sturgeon announced earlier this month she would not stand for re-election in the 2026 Holyrood election, but on Friday first minister John Swinney said he would "look forward" to her campaigning efforts for the SNP in the future.

His comments came after Ms Sturgeon spent time helping her election agent, Mhairi Hunter, win a by-election for a seat on Glasgow City Council this week.