Peter Murrell

Wikipedia coverage: Read the full Wikipedia article, including its references. The material below is the existing Deep Politics Wiki article.

Peter Murrell  link
Born	8 December 1964 Edinburgh, Scotland
Alma mater	University of Glasgow
Criminal charge	embezzlement, perverting the course of justice?
Spouse	Nicola Sturgeon
Party	SNP
Former CEO of the Scottish National Party who embezzled over £400,000 of SNP funds

Peter Tierney Murrell is the former chief executive officer of the Scottish National Party (SNP) who resigned in March 2023. He is the ex-husband of Nicola Sturgeon, who announced her resignation as the SNP's leader and First Minister of Scotland on 15 February 2023.

On 25 May 2026, Murrell pleaded guilty to embezzling over £400,000 of SNP funds, which he used between 2010 and 2022 to buy items including a luxury motor home, a Jaguar SUV and a VW Golf, boutique cosmetics, iPads and a Lalique Feuilles salt and pepper set worth £2,618. At the High Court in Edinburgh, the presiding Judge Lord Young said Murrell, who was married at the time of the thefts to Nicola Sturgeon, the former SNP leader and first minister, was guilty of a “gross breach of trust”. Murrell now faces a lengthy term in jail at his sentencing on 23 June 2026.

Career

Peter Murrell was chief executive officer of the SNP from 1999 when he took over from Michael Russell until 2023. Previously he had worked in the Banff and Buchan constituency office of Alex Salmond, who was former party leader. The party's success in the 2007 elections was credited to the organisation of Murrell.

Behind the-scenes meddling in his role as CEO were said to have earned him the nickname ‘Penfold‘, after Danger Mouse's sidekick in the children's cartoon series.

Murrell was formerly the Company Secretary of Independence Merchandising Limited, a now-dissolved company that included as its directors SNP politicians Pete Wishart and Stewart Stevenson.

In January 2019 Murrell came under pressure to resign from Kenny MacAskill, former SNP Justice Secretary.

Following his testimony to the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints, Murrell was reported to the Lord Advocate by committee member Murdo Fraser, who alleged he had made a "false statement" under oath while giving evidence. Murrell said he “absolutely refuted” the allegation.

Missing £600,000

Peter Murrell was facing questions from SNP members over the alleged disappearance of £600,000 in donations to the party as Police Scotland investigated an allegation of fraud with regards to the same missing £600,000. The Scotsman reported in June 2021, that Police Scotland had been asked to investigate Murrell regarding a donation to SNP from lottery winners Colin and Christine Weir, which they subsequently asked to be returned to them.

Murrell also faced questions from the Scottish Labour and Conservative parties over a £107,620 interest-free loan made to the SNP on 20 June 2021, that was not declared to the Electoral Commission for more than a year after the July 2021 deadline. The SNP stated that it did not declare the loan as it did not think the matter was reportable. The loan was to assist with cashflow problems at the party.

On 5 April 2023, Peter Murrell was arrested by Police Scotland, who had been investigating the matter of £660,000 that was raised by the SNP for Scottish Independence campaigning, following allegations of donations fraud. The inquiry, codenamed Operation Branchform, was launched in 2021 after it was alleged that money had been diverted from a “ring-fenced” fund to fight a second Scottish Independence referendum – sparking the resignation of several senior people from the SNP’s ruling body. He was criminally charged in April 2024.

Murrell steps down

When his wife, Nicola Sturgeon, announced her resignation as First Minister on 15 February 2023, Joanna Cherry, an SNP MP, called for Murrell to step down as CEO of the party stating:

"The SNP Leadership & party management have been deeply bound together. I cannot see any circumstances in which Peter Murrell can continue as Chief Executive under a new leader who must be free to choose a successor."

Murrell resigned with immediate effect on 18 March 2023.

References

[Upload logo to Wikipedia.png] This page imported content from Wikipedia on 15 February 2023.
Wikipedia is not affiliated with Wikispooks.   Original page source here