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More details have emerged about how former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell stole hundreds of thousands of pounds from party funds, as ITV News Correspondent Rachel Townsend reports
Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell used party charge card and created fake invoices to buy hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of items, including a £100,000 motorhome and a £3,000 robotic lawnmower with party donations, a court has heard.
On Tuesday, the High Court in Edinburgh heard he embezzled £400,310.65 from the SNP’s principal bank account, “over which he had control”.
Alan Cameron KC said the funds in that account came mainly from “membership fees and donations paid by party members and other donors and legacies”.
He said Murrell falsified accounting records and created fake invoices in an effort to cover up his wrongdoing, as he racked up purchases that included a £124,550 motorhome and thousands of pounds’ worth of luxury stationery.
He told the court that one of the vehicles included a Volkswagen Golf car, which was later sold, and the proceeds were used towards buying a Jaguar I-Pace worth more than £81,000.
The advocate depute said a false invoice was created for this, submitting the claim as “stage payment”.
Mr Cameron KC said: “He claimed that the payment was for staging for national events.”The advocate depute also discussed the purchase of a motorhome by Murrell, which was worth £124,550.
When police seized the vehicle from his mother’s house, the odometer showed it had only been driven for four miles.
Scotland’s former first minister Nicola Sturgeon previously said that she had been lied to by her former husband. Credit: PA
He said it was described as a “van rather than a motorhome” when the invoice was filed.Mr Cameron KC said: “It was never used or seen by any other party member or employee.”Murrell appeared in court dressed in a dark blue suit and black tie.
Murrell, 61, pleaded guilty on Monday last week to embezzling a total of £400,310.65 from the SNP between August 2010 and October 2022.
A wine coaster purchased by Murrell. Credit: PA
The cash was used to buy a range of items, including designer kitchenware, multiple pairs of shoes, expensive pens and a £1,200 space telescope.
The sentencing of former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s ex-husband is due to take place later in June.
Murrell’s guilty plea has led to intense scrutiny for Nicola Sturgeon, who has denied knowledge of his crimes, saying she was “deceived, misled and betrayed”.
The former SNP leader said she has been “completely exonerated” after a “two-year-long, very forensic police investigation” which saw police officers search the home she and Murrell had shared.
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Ms Sturgeon was arrested and questioned as part of the police investigation into the SNP’s finances, which was known as Operation Branchform, but Police Scotland confirmed she would face no action.
At the weekend, the former first minister told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme she feels like she is “serving a sentence for a crime I did not commit”.
Murrell’s guilty plea has also led to calls for an independent investigation into the SNP’s finances.
Former first minister Lord Jack McConnell has said a joint inquiry by both Holyrood and Westminster committees should examine Murrell’s embezzlement.
Shadow Scottish secretary Andrew Bowie has called on Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee to initiate an inquiry.
However, current SNP leader and First Minister John Swinney has said there is no need for such an inquiry, emphasising the detailed nature of the police investigation.
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