Murrell Embezzled £400,000 from SNP Using Fraudulent Methods

Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, the estranged husband of Nicola Sturgeon, has admitted to stealing over £400,000 from the party through a scheme involving charge cards, bank transfers, and forged invoices. The 61-year-old, who held the top administrative role for more than two decades, is facing a significant prison sentence after entering a guilty plea last week. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 23.

Murrell, who is currently detained at HMP Edinburgh, was escorted in handcuffs to the High Court in Edinburgh for a hearing that established the timeline of his offenses. The court was informed that he utilized his own SNP charge card alongside those belonging to two other staff members to facilitate illicit purchases. Additionally, he executed direct bank transfers from the party’s accounts, which were funded by membership dues, donations, and bequests. While Murrell had direct access to the accounting system and could log transactions himself, the court noted that a staff member under his supervision performed most of this work.

The former executive was arrested in April 2023, shortly after stepping down amid a dispute regarding membership statistics. Police raids were conducted at both the SNP’s Edinburgh headquarters and the Glasgow home Murrell shared with Sturgeon. Although the court indictment lists over 1,000 items, most were not recovered during these searches. Seized goods included a custom wooden library, a robotic lawnmower, a bathroom vanity unit, boiler kitchen fittings, and fitted mats. Most significantly, police confiscated a £124,550 motorhome from Murrell’s mother’s residence in Dunfermline.

This luxury Niesmann and Bischoff vehicle was ordered in October 2020. Murrell initially paid a £12,500 deposit using an SNP charge card, followed by four direct transfers totaling £112,050 from the party’s account in December 2020. The motorhome arrived at Halbeath Industrial Estate in January 2021 and was driven briefly to Murrell’s mother’s home. Upon its seizure two years later, it had been driven just four miles. To conceal the purchase, Murrell created a fake invoice, altering the customer details and mislabeling the vehicle as a van while removing references to security, navigation, and television systems from the financial records.

Although Murrell allegedly claimed the vehicle was intended for campaigning, it was never used for such purposes. He was the sole insured driver, and the insurance policy covered only "social, domestic and pleasure purposes." The day after acquiring the motorhome, he ordered three guidebooks for "inspirational journeys" across the UK and Ireland in a camper van.

The court also heard details of other fraudulent transactions. In early 2016, Murrell transferred £16,498 from the party account toward a £33,000 Volkswagen Golf. He traded this in for an £81,000 Jaguar I-PACE in September 2019, paying the remainder through false invoices and fraudulent expense claims.

Further revelations from the hearing included: * Purchasing two watches for over £9,000, which were falsely logged in party software as "event merchandise." * Categorizing a £3,070 robotic lawnmower purchase, including installation, as "legal fees" for his Glasgow home. * Making 383 Amazon purchases totaling £42,660.74, with deliveries sent to his home, SNP headquarters, and relatives. * Using party cards for 238 additional retailer purchases between June 2015 and June 2022. * Paying a £30 parking fine outside Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital with a party card. * Altering invoices for an "Apple processor.

Source: BBC News Generated at: 2026-06-02 12:03:22 UTC