Peter Murrell Sentenced to Five Years and Three Months; Nicola Sturgeon Not Charged

Peter Murrell was sentenced to five years and three months in prison on June 22 for embezzling £400,310.65 from the Scottish National Party. Judge Lord Young, sitting at the High Court in Edinburgh, described the offence as a calculated crime of dishonesty involving a large number of fraudulent acts.

The judge reduced the term from seven years to reflect Murrell's guilty plea at a preliminary hearing.

Murrell admitted using direct bank transfers, party charge cards and false invoices to obtain the money between August 2010 and October 2022. He spent the funds on hundreds of purchases that included a £124,550 motorhome, cars, jewellery, luxury homewares and designer stationery, while falsifying accounting records to conceal the transfers from the party's main bank account, which held membership fees, donations and legacies.

Murrell will become eligible for parole after serving half the sentence.

The court was told he had been assessed as a low risk of reoffending. Defence barrister John Scullion KC said Murrell intended to repay the full amount. Police Scotland began investigating the party's finances in 2021 after questions arose over £667,000 raised for a second independence referendum.

A proceeds-of-crime hearing is scheduled for September 14. Nicola Sturgeon, Murrell's estranged wife and former first minister, was neither charged nor convicted in connection with the case.