Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
EDINBURGH, United Kingdom – Peter Murrell, the former chief executive of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and estranged husband of ex‑First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, has been sentenced to five years and three months in prison after he admitted embezzling more than £400,000 from the party he served for over two decades. The sentence, handed down at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, capped a dramatic fall from grace for the man who once ran Scotland’s dominant political machine.
Lord Young, the presiding judge, described Murrell’s actions as a “calculated crime of dishonesty” carried out over more than a decade. He noted that the offending “increased in frequency” over time, eventually amounting to more than £400,000, and that Murrell was only stopped when his criminality was detected. “You found yourself unable to stop this offending, and it was only the detection of the crime that brought it to an end,” the judge told the former SNP chief, who showed little reaction as the sentence was delivered, staring straight ahead before being led away in handcuffs. The judge noted that Murrell had used his position as chief executive to “circumvent checks and balances”, though he described the nature of the embezzlement as “not particularly sophisticated”.
Murrell, 61, had pleaded guilty on May 25, 2026, to embezzling £400,310.65 from the SNP between August 12, 2010, and October 19, 2022. The money, drawn from membership fees, donations and legacies, was used to fund a sprawling array of personal purchases, including a £124,550 luxury motorhome, a Jaguar SUV, jewellery, cosmetics, designer stationery, a robotic lawnmower, and a silver wine coaster worth £3,500, which was disguised in the party’s accounting system as “leadership expenses”. The motorhome, bought entirely with party funds, was found three years later at his mother’s house with just four miles on the clock.
Murrell’s lawyer, John Scullion KC, told the court that his client had been “overwhelmed by feelings of embarrassment and shame” and had lived in “almost total isolation” since his arrest, “at times to the detriment of his health”. He accepted that the only appropriate punishment was imprisonment, and acknowledged the “psychological and financial harm” Murrell had caused to the SNP. The judge, however, said he could not identify a clear motive for the crimes, noting that many of the high‑value items were never even used.
The sentence was backdated to May 25, when Murrell was first remanded in custody, and was reduced from seven years in recognition of his guilty plea. He will be eligible for parole after serving half of his sentence – a little over two years and seven months. A proceeds‑of‑crime hearing has been scheduled for September 14 to determine how much Murrell will be required to repay.
The embezzlement was uncovered during a wider Police Scotland investigation into the SNP’s finances, known as Operation Branchform, which began in 2021 after concerns were raised about the handling of funds raised for a second independence referendum campaign. Murrell’s home with Sturgeon and the SNP’s headquarters were both searched as part of the inquiry. Sturgeon, who was arrested and questioned but later released without charge, has denied any knowledge of her husband’s crimes, saying she was “deceived, misled and betrayed”. Police Scotland confirmed she would face no action.
The case has drawn intense scrutiny to the SNP’s internal financial controls. Lord Young said Murrell’s position enabled him to make direct transfers from the party’s main bank account and to use multiple party charge cards, while hiding purchases behind false accounting codes and misleading descriptions. The judge stressed that the sentence should serve as a deterrent to senior leaders of large organisations who might be tempted to act similarly. Murrell resigned as chief executive in March 2023 amid a row over misleading party membership figures, weeks before his first arrest.
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