This article appears as part of the Unspun: Scottish Politics newsletter.

It's a sorry indictment of this country that opponents of Nicola Sturgeon both inside and outside her own party seem incapable of expressing any empathy for what she’s been through over the last few years.

You may not like her politics, but she’s a human being. To have the threat of disgrace, jail and ruin hang over you is an appalling experience.

Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time as a journalist in the company of people who faced police investigation only to have the matter dropped against them.

The experience marked them for the rest of their lives – and the same will be true of the former First Minister. She may have a thick skin after years in frontline politics, but nobody is impervious to fear.

I personally ceased supporting Sturgeon some time ago. So I’m not what you’d call ‘an ally’. For many years, I did consider her one of the few capable and decent politicians in this country, but that faded.

My support dwindled not because of her position on trans rights. Indeed, Sturgeon is a stalwart feminist who simply wanted to extend equality as widely as possible. For that she deserves respect.

This period of her leadership has been used as a weapon to attack her by a brigade of relentless culture warriors. Many of those leading the campaign were men who would strip abortion rights from women. Thus........

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