Peter Murrell 'abused position' following SNP embezzlement

Murrell, who is the estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, confessed to an amended indictment of embezzling £400,310.65 from the SNP between August 2010 and October 2022.

That sum was amended down from more than £459,000 and included in the indictment was a £124,550 luxury campervan, purchased in 2020 using party funds.

Murrell had the Niesmann+Bischoff iSmove motorhome sent 300 miles from Staffordshire to his elderly mother’s home in Dunfermline, Fife.

The 61-year-old also embezzled the funds to purchase cars, including a Jaguar I-Pace which cost £81,277 from an Edinburgh dealership.

Murrell later created false invoices for £57,500 of party funds and submitted it to the SNP’s auditors “in an attempt to disguise the true nature of the purchase,” according to the indictment.

He sold the car in August 2021 for £47,378 and moved the cash into his personal bank account.

A Volkswagen Golf was also purchased in Edinburgh, using £16,489 of party funds. The full price of the car was £32,989.

He also bought two luxury Bremont World Timer Alt 1 watches, costing £4,555.25 and £4,795 respectively.

More funds went on luxury pens, suitcases, a telescope, tea sets and a special edition Beatles pen. A Wusthof knife block cost £795.

In total, more than a thousand spending entries were published by the court as part of a 125-page indictment.

Mr Murrell will remain in custody until he is sentenced on June 23, 2026.

Judge Young, presiding over the case, told Murrell:  “You have pleaded guilty to a charge of embezzlement over a period of 12 years.

“You embezzled just over £400,000 from the Scottish National Party.

“As the chief executive officer of that organisation throughout that period your actions constitute a gross breach of trust.”

Murrell was later told he “abused his privileged position” to “divert cash into his own accounts and bankroll the lavish lifestyle he craved but could not afford”.

In January last year, Ms Sturgeon announced she and Murrell had “decided to end” their marriage, but said the pair continued to care deeply for each other.

Ms Sturgeon was arrested in June 2023 in connection with Operation Branchform, the police probe into SNP finances, but was later cleared of all wrongdoing.

In a statement, the former SNP leader said she was “angry, hurt, sad and very distressed” by Murrell’s actions.

“To be deceived and let down by a husband I loved and trusted has caused me acute pain,” she said. “Why he acted as he did is, and always will be, beyond my comprehension.”

Ms Sturgeon has repeatedly stated she was unaware of Murrell’s actions and a statement published on her behalf by solicitor Aamer Anwar stated: “ I have seen questions raised about how I could not have known about this. I want to reiterate that I had no knowledge or suspicion whatsoever that personal items had been purchased using SNP funds.

"I was cleared of any wrongdoing after a lengthy and thorough investigation.”

She said she was not aware of expensive watches or games consoles being purchased and did not know why a campervan had been acquired.

She added: "In respect of any items I was aware of Peter having purchased, I had no reason to doubt that he had used his own money. We were both earning high salaries and, due to the responsibilities of my job, rarely socialised or went on holidays. We had separate bank accounts and I had no access to his financial records.”

Pressure mounts on senior SNP figures to compensate victims of Murrell’s embezzlement. The funds used by Murrell were earmarked for independence campaigning and had been donated by SNP members.

During a press conference in Edinburgh, announced shortly after Murrell’s plea, First Minister John Swinney said he would “say sorry to everyone involved”.

He said: “By embezzling from the SNP, Peter Murrell was stealing the hopes, the dreams and the aspirations of thousands of people all over Scotland, people who gave what they could over many years in the hope that it would help contribute to a better country.

“So today I am horrified, I am betrayed.”

Mr Swinney insisted Murrell was “exclusively responsible” and said he had “never suspected” the former chief executive had been embezzling party funds.

Asked about repaying party members who had donated, Mr Swinney said: "Party members have made donations to the SNP, we don’t have that money, it has been stolen from us."

Sean Clerkin, a pro-independence campaigner who helped trigger the investigation with a police complaint, said he felt "relief and vindication" following the guilty plea.

"There is a moral decay at the heart of the SNP that needs to be cleaned out," he said.

Police Scotland also came under scrutiny for the length of the criminal trial into the SNP's finances.

The force defended their probe, stating the length of the investigation was "crucial" given its complexity.

Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Houston said Peter Murrell had “abused his privileged position with access to Scottish National Party funds to divert cash into his own accounts and bankroll the lavish lifestyle he craved but could not afford”.

Speaking to the media at Fettes police station in Edinburgh, Mr Houston was asked about the length of time taken by Operation Branchform: the police investigation into the SNP’s finances which began in 2021.

The senior officer, who had oversight of the investigation, said: “I think (given) the volume and nature of the real, real complexity regarding the financial crimes that were committed – it has taken some time but that was crucial.”

He said Murrell’s guilty plea showed that a “thorough and robust investigation was conducted”.

Mr Houston also defended the use of a blue evidence tent which was placed outside Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell’s home.

He said this was necessary to ensure the “integrity of investigations” when items were removed from the house.