Nicola Sturgeon has been urged to “come clean” over what she knew about her husband embezzling £400,000 from the SNP.
Peter Murrell, the party’s former chief executive, was remanded in custody on Monday and faces jail after admitting to stealing funds to buy a motorhome, cars and luxury items ranging from watches to fountain pens.
His guilty plea at Edinburgh High Court immediately triggered accusations that Ms Sturgeon must have known about Murrell’s actions, which occurred between August 2010 and October 2022. The couple married in July 2010 and shared a home in Uddingston, near Glasgow, before they separated last year.
Dame Jackie Baillie, the Scottish Labour deputy leader, claimed it was “inconceivable” that Ms Sturgeon could have known nothing. Russell Findlay, the Scottish Tory leader, called Murrell a “thieving magpie” and urged Ms Sturgeon to “come clean about exactly what she knew, and when”, adding: “Nobody in the real world is buying her claims that she didn’t know a thing about the criminal actions of the man she shared a house, life and political party with.”
But in a statement issued through her lawyers, Ms Sturgeon said she had “no reason to doubt” Murrell had used his own money, adding: “We were both earning high salaries and, due to the responsibilities of my job, rarely socialised or went on holidays.” Murrell reportedly earned £104,492 in 2011 but this fell to £79,750 by 2021. Ms Sturgeon’s 2021-22 tax return showed a gross income of £140,496.
The conviction could damage the SNP’s push for a second independence referendum following its Holyrood election victory this month. MSPs are scheduled to vote on Tuesday on having another referendum.
Ms Sturgeon and Murrell worked at the top of the SNP for two decades. Murrell was the party’s chief executive from 2001 to 2023, while Ms Sturgeon served as deputy party leader from 2004 before taking over from Alex Salmond as leader and first minister in 2014. As party leader, Ms Sturgeon was legally responsible for signing off on the SNP’s accounts.
On Monday, Murrell admitted using party funds to buy a £124,550 luxury motorhome, which he parked outside his mother’s home in Fife.
He also admitted embezzling funds to buy two cars, including a Jaguar, and filing false business expense claims worth more than £18,000.
A 119-page document also detailed how Murrell spent £139,971 on luxury items, including £2,618 on salt and pepper grinders from Lalique, more than £3,000 on a robotic lawnmower, nearly £2,600 on a coffee machine and £240 on two women’s umbrellas.
Murrell also used SNP funds to purchase two Bremont watches for a total of £9,350, a £4,225 Starwalker World Time fountain pen and a £3,500 Hamilton and Inches silver wine coaster.
Among the smaller purchases were DVD box sets of the Danish political drama Borgen. Ms Sturgeon was a fan of the series and interviewed Sidse Babett Knudsen, the lead actress for a TV show.
Judge Lord Young told Murrell, 61, that his actions amounted to a “gross breach of trust” given his position as chief executive of the party.
Murrell, who wore a navy suit, white shirt and navy tie, was led away in handcuffs. He was remanded into custody, with sentencing due to take place on June 23.
The High Court has the power to impose sentences of more than five years for embezzlement, although Murrell’s early guilty plea could lower the jail term.
In a press conference after Murrell’s court appearance, John Swinney, the SNP leader, apologised to party members but still faced calls to resign.
Joanna Cherry, the former SNP MP, said she and others had raised concerns about the party’s finances but were criticised by Ms Sturgeon and her “lackeys” and described as “traitors”.
Murrell’s guilty plea was the culmination of a £2m police investigation, titled Operation Branchform, which was triggered in 2017.
Party members raised concerns about the whereabouts of more than £600,000 in donations raised in 2017 for a campaign to fight a second independence referendum.
Accounts lodged with Companies House in 2020 appeared to show the SNP had only £97,000 in the bank, despite a second independence campaign not having taken place.
A video showed Ms Sturgeon telling a March 2021 meeting of the SNP’s ruling national executive committee that the party’s finances had never been stronger.
Three senior officials had just said they intended to resign from the party’s finance and audit committee after being denied access to the accounts.
But the recording, which was leaked two years later, showed Ms Sturgeon warning of the impact on future donations to the SNP if anyone went public with their concerns.
Police raided Ms Sturgeon and Murrell’s home in April 2023, searching it for two days and erecting a large evidence tent. They also confiscated the motorhome. Murrell was arrested and released without charge pending further investigation.
Colin Beattie, the former SNP treasurer, was arrested the following month, and then Ms Sturgeon in June 2023. Both were also released without charge. She denied any wrongdoing.
Murrell was arrested again in April 2024 and charged with embezzling party funds.
Ms Sturgeon announced last year that they had separated and were divorcing.
The court hearing was originally scheduled for February, but was postponed until after the May 7 Holyrood election, which saw the SNP win a fifth term in government.
In a first statement posted on social media, Ms Sturgeon said: “My reaction to the guilty plea tendered today by my former husband is difficult to put into words. 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 a husband I loved and trusted has caused me acute pain. Why he acted as he did is, and always will be, beyond my comprehension.
In a second statement issued hours later by her lawyers, Ms Sturgeon said: “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. In relation to many of the items in question, for example expensive watches and games consoles, I was not aware of them having been purchased at all.
“Indeed, in relation to the item of largest value – a camper van – I was not aware of its existence until it featured in the police investigation in early 2023, nor was it parked in our driveway as has been claimed by some.”
But Dame Jackie said: “It is inconceivable that Nicola Sturgeon knew nothing about the large-scale fraud, which she benefited from, taking place under her nose in both her party and her home.
“It was Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP party machine that attempted to close ranks and shut down scrutiny when questions about the finances started to emerge and we need to know why.”
She added: “Nicola Sturgeon must urgently come clean and tell the public what she knew and when, and explain how it is possible that this luxury lifestyle was bankrolled under her own roof without her knowing about it.”
Mr Findlay said: “Peter Murrell has finally taken the rap for being a thieving magpie – but he used vast sums of the stolen cash to feather the marital nest he shared with Nicola Sturgeon.
“His crime spree took place right under her nose over many years while they jointly held a vice-like grip on the SNP.
“You would need to be a particularly gullible member of Nicola Sturgeon’s fan club to swallow her preposterous protestations of ignorance about her husband’s criminal racket.”
He added: “Frankly, Nicola Sturgeon should come clean about exactly what she knew, and when, about her husband.”
