Former chief executive used party funds as 'personal bank account' for luxury motorhomes, jewellery, and even a robotic lawnmower

Peter Murrell, the former chief executive of the Scottish National Party, was sentenced to five years and three months in prison today after admitting to embezzling more than £400,000 from the party over a 12-year period.

Lord Young handed down the sentence at the High Court in Edinburgh, reducing an initial seven-year term by 25% in recognition of Murrell's early guilty plea—a decision that spared the SNP and Scotland's political establishment a lengthy and damaging trial.

Murrell, 61, pleaded guilty to siphoning £400,310.65 from the SNP's principal bank accounts between August 2010 and October 2022.

The court heard how Murrell exploited his "absolute control" over party finances to fund a lavish lifestyle, concealing his theft through a sophisticated web of deception.

Prosecutors detailed a systematic fraud that included direct cash transfers into personal accounts, misuse of party charge cards for high-end retail purchases, false expense claims, doctored invoices, and falsified accounting codes.

Among the items purchased with stolen funds were a £124,550 luxury motorhome, two vehicles, high-end cosmetics, jewellery, and Montblanc pens. In one particularly brazen example, Murrell coded a £3,070 robotic lawnmower as "legal fees" and classified a £3,500 silver wine coaster as a “leadership expense.”

The sentencing marks the conclusion of Operation Branchform, an intensive Police Scotland investigation launched in 2021. The probe initially focused on the whereabouts of £600,000 in crowdfunding donations intended for a future independence referendum campaign.

Murrell, who ran the SNP's administrative operations for more than two decades, resigned from his post in March 2023 following a dispute over declining party membership figures. He was formally arrested and charged in connection with the embezzlement in April 2024.

The case has sent shockwaves across the Scottish political landscape.

Murrell is the estranged husband of former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who led the party alongside him during the height of its political dominance. Sturgeon was previously arrested and released without charge during the investigation. Following Murrell's guilty plea, she issued a statement saying she felt "deceived, misled and betrayed," confirming that the couple had separated and finalized their divorce in 2025.

Current First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney offered a full apology to party members, labelling Murrell's systemic fraud an "overwhelming betrayal" of the grassroots activists who donated to the movement.

The SNP has confirmed it will initiate civil proceedings to recover the stolen money.

Outside the court, prosecutors described Murrell's offending as "a calculated and sustained abuse of trust" that had “undermined public confidence in the governance of a major political party.”

Murrell showed no visible emotion as the sentence was read. He was led away to begin his sentence immediately.