Starmer joins calls for probe into Peter Murrell embezzlement as Nicola Sturgeon urged to ‘come clean’ about what she knew

Sir Keir Starmer said “questions must be answered” after Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband Peter Murrell embezzled £400,000 from the SNP.

Ms Sturgeon insisted she knew nothing about the former SNP leader’s criminal activities after he pleaded guilty on Monday following a Police Scotland investigation into a £2m fraud.

But his guilty plea at the High Court in Edinburgh triggered suggestions that former SNP leader and Scottish First Minister Ms Sturgeon may have been aware of his activities.

Items linked to the embezzlement included the purchase of a luxury caravan worth £124,550, which he parked outside his mother’s home in Fife.

Other items included £2,618 for Lalique’s salt and pepper grinders, more than £3,000 for a robotic lawnmower, nearly £2,600 for a coffee machine and £240 for two women’s umbrellas.

Murrell, 61, also admitted using SNP funds to buy two Bremont watches, a £4,225 Starwalker World Time fountain pen and a £3,500 Hamilton and Inches silver wine coaster for a total of £9,350.

Ms Sturgeon said she had “no knowledge or suspicion” that personal items were purchased using SNP funds.

But current SNP leader and First Minister John Swinney is under pressure for a full investigation into what happened, and Sir Keir is also calling for further investigations into the matter.

Asked if Mr Swinney had questions to answer, Sir Keir said: “I think anyone who looks at what’s going on in Scotland will be struck by the fact that those at the top of the SNP are saying they don’t know anything about what’s going on, so clearly there are questions to be answered.”

Former SNP MP Joanna Cherry, a respected barrister, led the calls for an inquiry and added: “I am calling for an independent investigation into why the party’s internal management systems did not work during the period in question and why those of us elected to oversee the party’s finances were prevented from doing so.”

Ms Sturgeon was one of three party officials who signed off on the accounts at the time and was accused of trying to thwart attempts by Cherry and others to examine them.

Another former SNP MP and MSP Michelle Thomson told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “Trust has been breached at the most significant level.”

He described Mr Swinney as “a good man who will take Scotland forward” but added: “It certainly needs to be seen that things have changed under his watch as first minister and leader of the SNP.

“That could start with him apologizing to the people who are trying to do the right thing to make sure their governance structures are absolutely intact, and perhaps even having an independent investigation conducted by an external body into what happened and why.”

Another former SNP MSP, Joan McAlpine, added in a post on

Meanwhile, Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay called Murrell a “thieving magpie” and called on Ms Sturgeon to “make clear exactly what she knew and when she knew it”. He added: “No one in the real world believes her claims that she knew nothing about the criminal activities of the man with whom she shared a home, a life and a political party.”

In her first statement published on social media, Ms Sturgeon said: “It is difficult to put into words my reaction to my ex-husband’s guilty plea today. “I am angry, hurt, saddened and deeply distressed about the impact of his actions on my family, friends and the SNP.

“Being cheated on and disappointed by a husband I loved and trusted caused me intense pain. I couldn’t understand why he acted the way he did, and always will.”

Murrell reportedly earned £104,492 in 2011, but this has dropped to £79,750 in 2021. Ms Sturgeon’s 2021-22 tax return revealed gross income of £140,496.

In a second statement later released by her lawyers, Ms Sturgeon added: “I would like to reiterate that I have no knowledge or suspicion that personal effects were purchased using SNP funds.

“Following a long and thorough investigation, I was cleared of any wrongdoing. “As for many of the items in question, such as expensive watches and games consoles, I had no knowledge they had been purchased.

“In fact, regarding the item of greatest value, the caravan, I was not aware of its existence until it emerged in the police investigation in early 2023 and was not parked in our driveway as some have claimed.”

At a press conference on Monday, Mr Swinney apologized to party activists and spoke of his sense of “overwhelming betrayal” and “personal horror”.

He said: “Peter Murrell’s guilty plea confirms that the Scottish National Party is the victim of the misappropriation of hundreds of thousands of pounds of funds provided by SNP members.

“This is an admission of a terrible breach of trust and a crushing betrayal by the person appointed as the leader of the party.”