EDINBURGH — Peter Murrell pleaded guilty to embezzling £400,310.65 from the Scottish National Party over a 12-year period and is scheduled to be sentenced on 23 June.
As SNP chief executive, Murrell had complete control of the party’s books and accounts. Court records show he created false invoices, used incorrect accounting codes, transferred money directly from SNP accounts, and used SNP charge cards—including those of two employees without their knowledge—to make personal purchases. Many of the goods were delivered to SNP headquarters, with some sent to family members.
Murrell used stolen party funds to purchase a £124,550 Niesmann+Bischoff motorhome in January 2021, driving it only four miles from the dealer in Halbeath, Fife, to his mother’s home in Dunfermline. He described the motorhome as a van in a faked invoice submitted to the SNP and told staff it was intended as a mobile campaign headquarters during the Covid crisis. Police found no SNP campaign material in the vehicle when it was searched. The motorhome remained unused for more than two years before being seized in April 2023.
The motorhome was stocked with luxury items, including Le Creuset and Joseph Joseph kitchenware, an Alessi teapot, and Molton Brown toiletries. Murrell also used embezzled funds from SNP donations, membership fees, and bequests to buy motoring guides for trips around Scotland, England, Wales, and Ireland.
Among the mislabeled expenses, an £81,000 Jaguar I-Pace SUV was recorded as a 'stage payment' in a fake invoice. A £3,500 hand-chased silver wine coaster from Hamilton & Inches was logged as 'leadership expenses,' while an £23 egg poacher appeared in SNP records as 'computer hardware purchases – internet cabling.' The £3,070 cost of a robotic Husqvarna lawnmower, found at the home Murrell shared with Nicola Sturgeon, was listed as 'legal fees.'
Analysis showed Murrell’s annual embezzlement rose from nearly £50,000 in 2016 and 2017 to nearly £100,000 in 2019, peaking at £150,000 in 2020. Alan Campbell KC, for the prosecution, told the court that Murrell withheld the motorhome from party staff and that it was never used or seen by any other party member or employee.
Nicola Sturgeon said in a BBC interview with Laura Kuenssberg: 'The motorhome was between the house and the next-door neighbour’s house. I genuinely have no conscious memory of seeing that motorhome. If I saw it, I would probably have assumed it was the neighbour’s.' She added: 'My mother- and father-in-law were in their mid-80s. It wouldn’t have crossed my mind that it was theirs … and why would it have crossed my mind it was the SNP’s, that Peter had bought it?'