Peter Murrell accused of embezzling £459,000 from SNP funds

The SNP faces a deeper reckoning than one former executive’s legal troubles. Peter Murrell, the party’s chief executive from 2000 to 2023 and the estranged husband of Nicola Sturgeon, has been accused of embezzling £459,000 over more than 12 years, turning a long-running police probe into a test of the party’s financial controls and credibility.

The case grew out of Police Scotland’s Operation Branchform, launched in July 2021 to examine SNP fundraising and finances, including about £600,000 raised for independence campaigning. Murrell, 59, was arrested in April 2024 and charged with embezzlement before being reported to prosecutors. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service decides whether cases proceed to court, placing the next stage of the case in the hands of Scotland’s prosecution service.

For the SNP, the damage goes beyond one senior figure. Murrell ran the party machine for more than two decades, and the allegations reach into the heart of how the party handled money, oversight and internal accountability during its most dominant era. The scandal has intensified scrutiny of how independence donations were managed, how party finances were recorded and who was responsible for answering questions when concerns emerged.

The political fallout has already spread across the party’s leadership. Current First Minister Humza Yousaf described the allegations as a “really serious and concerning matter.” The SNP said investigations were continuing and it could not comment further. That caution reflects how sensitive the issue has become for a party that built much of its authority on discipline, professionalism and public trust.

The investigation has also cast a long shadow over Nicola Sturgeon’s leadership years. Sturgeon and former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie were arrested in June 2023 as part of the same probe, but were later released without charge and told they would face no further action. Police Scotland later said investigations were continuing and declined to comment further.

Beyond the criminal case, the finances themselves have become part of the political story. Murrell made a loan of more than £100,000 to the SNP in 2021 to help with a cash-flow issue, and some of that remained outstanding in later accounts. The party’s purchase of a £100,000 motorhome also became entangled in the wider investigation, reinforcing questions about oversight, transparency and how independence fundraising money was handled.

For a party that has dominated Scottish politics for much of the past two decades, the impact is institutional as much as personal. The embezzlement case has left the SNP defending not just one former chief executive, but the standards that governed its rise.