Nicola Sturgeon has faced fresh criticism from a former special adviser, Kate Higgins, over her paperback book tour and her recent attack on First Minister John Swinney's election strategy. Higgins, who worked as a SPAD under Sturgeon from 2015 until stepping down recently, argued that Sturgeon's public interventions are making it harder for the SNP to move past the scandal surrounding her estranged husband Peter Murrell's embezzlement case and to rebuild activist support. The criticism follows similar concerns raised by Sturgeon's former chief of staff, Liz Lloyd, and reflects wider unease within the party about the timing and tone of Sturgeon's comments.

Higgins also urged Sturgeon, former MP Joanna Cherry and author JK Rowling to end their public feuding, calling the ongoing exchanges "tedious" and suggesting they "all just do one". The row escalated after Sturgeon dismissed Cherry's book as "s***" without reading it and accused Rowling of being "obsessed" with her, prompting Cherry to hit back at the Edinburgh Fringe over Sturgeon's comments about her sexuality. Cherry subsequently rejected Higgins's remarks, accusing SNP special advisers of being appointed for "blind loyalty" rather than ability.