The estranged husband of former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon pleaded guilty on Monday to misappropriating more than £400,000 (US$540,000) from the Scottish National Party while serving as its chief executive.
Peter Murrell, 61, was remanded in custody at the High Court in Edinburgh after entering his plea. He acknowledged using the funds to purchase a motorhome, two cars and various luxury items.
“By embezzling from the SNP, Peter Murrell stole the hopes, dreams and aspirations of thousands of Scots who contributed over many years in the belief that it would help build a better country,” SNP leader John Swinney said at a press conference. “I am horrified, I am betrayed.”
Murrell’s admission concludes a five‑year police investigation that has shaken Scotland’s dominant party and the former power couple who once led it.
After the SNP’s strong performance in the Scottish Parliament election of 2021, internal discord surfaced less than two years later, with questions arising over the party’s finances and a decline in membership.
Sturgeon, who dominated Scottish politics for nearly a decade, abruptly resigned as First Minister in February 2023 after more than eight years in office, citing a personal conviction that it was the right moment to step down.
