The Mail has now reported that sources close to the case have revealed that a second hearing will be held ahead of the Scottish Parliamentary election vote on May 7.

Mr Murrell appeared in court on the charge of embezzlement in March this year.

The 60-year-old made no plea in relation to a single charge of embezzlement at Edinburgh sheriff court. The case was committed for further examination and Mr Murrell was granted bail.

All the latest updates about Peter Murrell (Image: Andy Buchanan/PA Wire)

Mr Murrell was first arrested in April 2023 at the home he shared with Ms Sturgeon as part of the police investigation into the SNP’s finances which began in July 2021.

Operation Branchform was set up to look into how more than £600,000 of crowdfunding cash was used by the SNP. Prosecutors have previously stated that Ms Sturgeon and former party treasurer Colin Beattie, who were both arrested as part of Branchform, will not face charges.

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In March this year, Ms Sturgeon said the months of being under police investigation had been ‘difficult’ and ‘frustrating’ – but she was now ‘completely in the clear’.

Weeks before her estranged husband was arrested, Ms Sturgeon announced her intention to quit as First Minister in February 2023.

She said her resignation was a ‘coincidence of timing’, adding: “I think, in politics, you reach a point where you know you don’t have as much to give any more.”

Under Scots law there are specific timescales determining when an accused must be brought back to court by to appear at what is called a preliminary hearing.

At this preliminary hearing, the accused can enter a plea. If the plea is not guilty, a date for a trial to take place is set.

The time bar rules were established in the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act Section 65 and were amended by the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Act 2022.

Under the 1995 act, the accused must be indicted within 12 months of his or her first court appearance.

They also state an accused must be tried within 12 months of his or her first appearance on petition, or he or she is discharged from the indictment and cannot be proceeded against again for that offence.

The rules also permit the prosecutor to apply to the court to extend any of the time bars which lawyers say happens regularly.

The 2022 act extended both the time bars by six months allowing the justice system  more time to deal with a backlog of cases built up during the pandemic. The 2022 Act has not been repealed.

In January this year, it was announced that Mr Murrell and Ms Sturgeon were ending their marriage.  In an Instagram post, the former First Minister said the couple had been “separated for some time now”.