£300k festival lifeline after Sturgeon's old sidekick is made boss.. SNP must come clean

A BOOK festival featuring Nicola Sturgeon received £300,000 of taxpayers' cash weeks after her ex-chief of staff was appointed as a director.

- BY DAN VEVERS

The former first minister is among the headliners at this year's Edinburgh International Book Festival with an event to launch her memoir, Frankly.

It comes as her former top adviser, Liz Lloyd, was hired as a director of the literary event in May.

Last week, John Swinney's government announced a "one-off" £300,000 lifeline for the festival to continue its long-running schools programme.

It comes after the book festival lost its chief sponsor Baillie Gifford last year following a campaign by eco activists over the firm's fossil fuel ties.

Lothian Tory MSP Sue Webber said: "Taxpayers will be asking questions about how the SNP suddenly found this money a matter of weeks after Nicola Sturgeon's most senior former adviser was appointed a director of the festival.