Sturgeon says she could foster a child if her life ‘calms down sufficiently’

Former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has indicated she could foster a child if her life “ever calms down sufficiently”.

She said that in her time in charge at Holyrood work with youngsters in care had “got under my skin and into my heart in a way few other things have done”.

However, speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, she conceded: “I don’t know if my life will ever be calm enough to be the right environment for a vulnerable child.”

She said that as a result of her previous involvement with children in the care system she was of the view that “you should never foster a child to fill some gap in yourself or in your own life, it should all be about the child”.

The former first minister suffered a miscarriage in 2010, but made clear that she would not want to foster “because of my loss of a child and me not having children”.

She went on to state that “if my life ever calms down sufficiently yes, it is something I would like to consider doing, but I would only do it if I absolutely thought I could give a child the right environment”.

Her comments came as she told the audience at the event she was enjoying a “delayed adolescence”.

Having separated from her husband, former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, earlier this year, she said she is “enjoying single life”.

She also got her first tattoo, and “might get another one”, with the former first minster stating: “Because I got involved in politics so young, I was so focused, so single-minded, a lot of the stuff people tend to do when they are younger, I passed by.

“I am living a delayed adolescence.”