UK bakes in record May heat as Peter Murrell admits embezzlement

The UK’s bank-holiday heatwave broke records as a separate scandal at the heart of Scottish politics sharpened the national mood. A provisional 34.8C was recorded at Kew Gardens in south-west London on Monday, making it the hottest May day ever measured in the UK and overtaking a record that had stood at 32.8C since 1922, when it was matched in 1944.

The Met Office had already warned that parts of England and Wales could reach 35C, with temperatures above 30C expected across a wide swathe of southern and central Britain and the heat set to continue through the week. The forecast turned into a public-safety story as families, commuters and holidaymakers faced the kind of late-May temperatures more often associated with midsummer, putting pressure on travel, health advice and local services as the holiday period got under way.

At the same time, Peter Murrell, the former chief executive of the Scottish National Party and Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband, pleaded guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh to embezzling £400,310.65 from the party. The offences were said to have taken place between August 2010 and October 2022, a stretch that covered more than a decade at the top of SNP operations and ended with Murrell being remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on 23 June 2026.

Court reports said the money was used to buy a motorhome, two cars and numerous luxury goods, while Police Scotland said Murrell showed “utter contempt” for the public trust placed in him and diverted party cash into his own accounts to bankroll a lavish lifestyle. Officers said he also used false receipts and accounting to hide the crimes, a detail that will intensify scrutiny of how party finances were handled over many years.

Sturgeon said she was “deceived and let down” and described herself as “angry, hurt, sad and very distressed,” while insisting she had no knowledge or suspicion that SNP funds were being used for personal purposes. The case is part of Operation Branchform, the long-running Police Scotland investigation into SNP fundraising and finances that began in 2021 and is reported to have cost more than £2 million, adding a high-stakes trust question to a political story already central to Scotland’s governing party.