Former SNP chief admits embezzling £400K of party funds to ‘bankroll lavish lifestyle’
The former chief executive of the Scottish National Party, Peter Murrell, who is also Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband, has been remanded in custody after pleading guilty to embezzling hundreds of thousands of pounds from the party.
Murrell pleaded guilty on Monday morning when he appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Murrell admitted using “false or inaccurate accounting codes and descriptions for the purchase of said items” to “disguise the true nature of said purchases.”
Murrell admitted to embezzling more than £459,000 from the party between 2010 and 2023 to buy a motorhome, two cars, tech equipment, clothes, kitchen goods and luxury items.
He will be sentenced next month, with the former SNP official being remanded in custody in the period.
Speaking after the hearing, Asst Chief Constable Stuart Houston of Police Scotland said Murrell “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.”
Sturgeon and Murrell were one of Scotland’s most powerful couples at the top of politics, with the former Scottish first minister and SNP leader saying she had “decided to end” the marriage in January last year.
Murrell was first arrested in April 2023 as part of a police investigation into party finances and he was charged a year later.
He had been the party’s chief executive for 22 years, taking over in 2001 under the leadership of John Swinney, who has since served as the first minister of Scotland since 2024.
His wife Sturgeon became the party’s leader in 2015, a year after the Scottish referendum that saw the ‘No’ vote to independence win by 10 percentage points.
She resigned in February 2023, years after a fraud investigation named ‘Operation Branchform’ had been launched into the nationalist party.
Sturgeon and former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie had also been arrested as part of Operation Branchform but the police confirmed last year that they were no longer under investigation.
Sturgeon issued a statement on Monday afternoon, saying: “I am angry, hurt, sad and very distressed about the impact of his actions on family, friends and the SNP.
“To be deceived and let down by the husband I loved and trusted has caused me acute pain.
“Why he acted as he did is, and always will be, beyond my comprehension.”
Scotland’s first minister, SNP leader John Swinney, spoke on Monday of the “hurt and betrayal,” as he defended his party’s handling of the allegations.
Where did the cash go?
The court published 125 pages of documents detailing the items which had been embezzled by Murrell.
The largest transaction was the purchase of a luxury motorhome for £124,550.
A £33,000 Volkswagen Golf was purchased in 2016 using £16,489 of SNP money.
In 2019, he allegedly used £57,500 of party funds to buy a Jaguar I-PACE car, selling it for £47,378 two years later.
Other large purchases included £9,350 on two Bremont watches and several thousand pounds on a tea set and vanity bureau from luxury firm Frank Smythson.
The BBC also reports that other purchases included £4,225 on a Starwalker World Time fountain pen in 2017; a £3,500 Hamilton and Inches hand chased wine coaster in Britannia silver in December that year; and a Jura Giga 5 Cromo coffee machine for £3,231.90 in April 2016.
Ex SNP official responsible for ‘breach of trust’
The judge for the case, Lord Young, said Murrell had been responsible for a “gross breach of trust”.
The SNP has maintained support across the nation despite years of scrutiny over financial misconduct.
The party held onto Holyrood in elections earlier this month by winning 58 seats, compared to 17 for Labour and Reform UK, and 15 for the Scottish Greens.
Its vote share was its lowest point since 2007 although the day proved to be more gruelling for Scottish Labour, with its leader Anas Sarwar blaming the defeat on Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership.