The former chief executive of the Scottish National Party (SNP) used false invoices and fraudulent expenses claims to cover up purchases of about £400,000 (€462,000) made with party funds, a court heard on Tuesday.
Peter Murrell, the estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, used the SNP bank account under his control, as well as a party charge card, to buy goods from motor vehicles to luxury watches for his personal use.
The high court in Edinburgh heard an agreed “narrative” on events surrounding a scandal that has gripped the country and overshadowed the first weeks of the SNP’s fifth term in office at Holyrood.
Murrell, who pleaded guilty to embezzlement last month, will be sentenced on June 23rd.
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A large amount of the stolen funds related to motor vehicles, including a £124,550 motorhome purchased in October 2020 and then delivered to an industrial estate.
Murrell drove the motorhome four miles to his mother’s home in Dunfermline, where it remained parked until seized by police in April 2023, according to the prosecution.
The day after purchasing the vehicle, Murrell ordered three guides on “inspiration journeys around Scotland, England and Wales, and Ireland in a camper van or motorhome”.
He created a false invoice in the name of the dealer with the SNP headquarters listed as the customer address, rather than his home address. The description of the vehicle was changed from motorhome to van and details of additional features, including satellite navigation and a TV, were removed.
When an auditor raised additional questions about the purchase, the motorhome was added to the party’s fixed asset register.
[ Nicola Sturgeon says she is ‘serving a sentence for a crime I did not commit’Opens in new window ]
“But it was never used or seen by another party member or employee,” said advocate depute Alan Cameron.
While Murrell later suggested it could have been used for campaigning purposes, the motorhome was configured for personal use, he added.
Within the vehicle, police found other items that Murrell has pleaded guilty to embezzling, such as Le Creuset kitchen implements and Molton Brown toiletries.
Sturgeon told the BBC in an interview broadcast on Sunday that she had no “conscious memory” of seeing the motorhome, which was parked between her mother-in-law’s home and the neighbour’s house, on a handful of visits to the location. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026
