Nicola Sturgeon has made a surprise return to the campaign trail but refused to answer a single question as she joined SNP activists in Fife.
The party was accused of “hiding” its former leader as she made an unannounced visit to Leven on Saturday and then repeatedly declined to speak to our reporter.
Only we were present at what is believed to be Ms Sturgeon’s first campaign stop outside of her own constituency since the general election was called.
She joined Glasgow East candidate David Linden in Govanhill on Friday but has otherwise been noticeably absent from campaigning.
A dark cloud over campaign
The former first minister has not spoken in the Holyrood chamber in five months and remains under investigation as part of a police probe into SNP finances.
Her husband, Peter Murrell, has been charged with embezzlement of party funds.
Party figures previously warned the situation surrounding the SNP’s finances risks leaving a dark cloud over its campaign.
Ms Sturgeon was joined by SNP education chief Jenny Gilruth and North East Fife candidate Stefan Hoggan-Radu for a talk at pizza restaurant Base.
She then headed to an SNP pop-up tent before meeting with business owners and cutting Mr Hoggan-Radu’s hair at a local hairdressers.
It is not the first time she has been pictured cutting the hair of Fife politicians, with former North East Fife MP Stephen Gethins – who is standing in this election in Arbroath and Broughty Ferry – and SNP MSP David Torrance receiving trims during previous campaigns.
Mixed response from locals
Ms Sturgeon, who once polled as the most popular political leader in the UK, was met with a mixed response from locals.
One man booed and asked why the former SNP leader had come to Leven, while others cheered and waved as she arrived.
Janet Nicholson, who was exiting a nearby Greggs was surprised when she walked out to see Sturgeon taking pictures with activists.
She said: “I had no idea she was coming. It’s a bit of a surprise.
“I won’t be voting for them. Every week she seems to be in the paper for something.
“Everything that’s went wrong with the SNP is in a way her fault.”
Current polls suggest the SNP could be on track to lose dozens of Scottish seats.
Bill Bowman, the Scottish Conservative candidate for North East Fife, said local voters “will wonder what they’ve done wrong to deserve a visit from Nicola Sturgeon”.
“This is someone who once took every available opportunity to hog the spotlight,” he said.
“So the SNP hiding Ms Sturgeon away tells us all we need to know. She is a discredited public figure with an awful record in government.
“And if she is on the campaign trail for the SNP, Ms Sturgeon should at least front up and answer questions on her failures.”
Lib Dem Wendy Chamberlain, who is looking to hold on to the constituency, said Ms Sturgeon should explain to voters in Leven her government’s “failures on the NHS and education”.
The ‘original boss’
But SNP rival Mr Hoggan-Radu said the former first minister’s visit meant a lot to him.
He said: “Nicola is the original boss for me. She was the one that was in charge when I was first elected to Fife Council in 2002.
“She’s an incredible and brilliant speaker, and she really motivates people because people believe in her and what she stands for.
“We’ve obviously had a tough year, we put our hands up and admit that, but we’re getting ourselves together.
“The SNP have been a fantastic government since 2007 and we have achieved some incredible things such as the the Scottish Child Payment, lifting 100,000 children out of poverty.
“We’ve achieved so much and we shouldn’t be tainted by a few things that happened last year. We should be looked at by our record in government.”
Ms Sturgeon was arrested in June last year and was released without charge. She denies any wrongdoing.
Her husband, Peter Murrell, has not publicly addressed the charges against him.
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