Nicola Sturgeon accused of 'hypocrisy' over £25k payment for General Election night appearance

31 October 2024, 13:35

Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of "shameless hypocrisy" and being an "utter fraud" after revealing she was paid £25,000 by ITN for appearing on its general election results programme in July.

The former First Minister of Scotland, and former leader of the SNP, also had a £3000 bill for accommodation and travel covered by the television channel while she was in London for the appearance.

The £25k money was paid to her company, Nicola Sturgeon Limited, her updated register for interests at Holyrood has shown.

A spokesperson for Nicola Sturgeon said she was paid the fee offered by ITN and registered it accordingly.

But the Scottish Conservative party chair, Craig Hoy MSP, said she was guilty of "shameless hypocrisy" in taking the money.

While she was SNP leader, the party had furiously criticised former Conservative leader Ruth Davidson for being paid £7,500 for a similar role in 2019, saying that sitting politicians should not be paid for such appearances.

Demands were made by the SNP for Davidson to pay the money back, while Angus Robertson, now in the Scottish Government but at the time was seeking to replace Davidson as MSP for Edinburgh Central in the 2021 Holyrood election, said the payment was "another reminder" why Davidson "should resign".

SNP MSP Rona Mackay said at the time: "Ruth Davidson's priority appears to be picking up thousands in outside earnings while neglecting her actual job. Serving politicians who appear on election night broadcasts do so to represent their party - not to pick up a pay cheque. This payment is unprecedented – and she should now hand it back."

Today Craig Hoy said: “Nicola Sturgeon probably reckons she earned every penny of her huge fee for having to squirm on live TV as her own toxic legacy led to SNP seats tumbling on election night, but this declaration exposes her shameless hypocrisy.

“Having the ITV fee paid to her company is clearly a ruse to avoid paying the higher rates of income tax her incompetent SNP government have imposed on hard-working Scots and which she personally championed.

“So much for those with the broadest shoulders bearing the heaviest burden. It’s hard not to conclude that Nicola Sturgeon is an utter fraud.”

Current First Minister John Swinney - who was Sturgeon's deputy at the time of the row over Ruth Davidson's payment - was asked if she should resign.

Speaking to reporters after First Minister's Questions he said: "No, I don't think she should. And I think the call made for Ruth Davidson to resign was the wrong call. I don't think we should have been calling for that. We should let these things take their course and let folk register them, that's what the system was designed to do."

Nicola Sturgeon appeared on ITV's election night coverage with former Conservative chancellor George Osborne and ex-Labour shadow chancellor Ed Balls.

She had to respond live to results in Scotland which saw her party left with just nine MPs after the SNP vote collapsed. On air she said: "This is not a good night for the SNP on these numbers and there will be a lot of questions that need to be asked as we come out of it” but she rejected claims that her leadership had led the party to that point.

Her register of interests also shows she has received £75,000 as an advance on a book about her time as First Minister. It is listed as the first of four instalments from publisher Pan Macmillan.

It also lists payments she has received for writing book reviews, including one for Boris Johnson’s memoir Unleashed. Her register shows she was paid a combined £2,700 for three book reviews for the New Statesman in recent months.

The former first minster, who has spoken in Holyrood only four times since she resigned as SNP leader, also remains under investigation by Police Scotland's Operation Branchform detectives. She was previously arrested and released without charge, and said she has done nothing wrong.

Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, Sturgeon's husband, was charged with embezzling party funds in April.