Scotland’s outgoing first minister Nicola Sturgeon has told Sky News she has not heard whether police want to interview her or her husband as part of a long-running probe into SNP finances.

Police Scotland and the Crown Office are investigating how £600,000 raised by the SNP for independence campaigning has been spent.

In a Beth Rigby interview due to air at 9pm on Sky News, Ms Sturgeon also warned the candidates vying to succeed her not to “throw the baby out with the bathwater” – saying the leadership contest so far as been “a less than edifying process”.

Asked if she had heard whether she or her husband Peter Murrell will be interviewed by police, Ms Sturgeon responded: “No. I wouldn’t comment on any ongoing police investigation and I am not going to comment on this one.”

Mr Murrell, who had been the party’s chief executive since 1999, quit at the weekend after being embroiled in a row over claims he misled the press over membership numbers.

Ms Sturgeon admitted the race to succeed her had at times been bumpy, amid criticism of the candidates and calls for greater transparency.

But she stood by her decision to stand down, saying she had become so dominant in politics she was becoming a “barrier to succession”.

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“I wouldn’t be standing down if I didn’t think that was necessary after 16 years in government, but also protecting the ingredients of our phenomenal electoral success.”

She said a change in leadership was a “moment for renewal” as she urged those vying to succeed her “not to throw the baby out with the bathwater”.

“I’m not suggesting that this is not a difficult process and at times, it has been a less than edifying process,” she said.

“And what I’d say to all of those standing to succeed me as leader… is remember that I am standing down from a party that hasn’t lost an election in Scotland since 2010.

“This is a moment for refresh, renewal, change, but let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. We have the trust of the people of Scotland and we’ve got to make sure we retain that trust.”

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