‘I’m being sentenced for a crime I did not commit’: Nicola Sturgeon is close to tears as she defiantly refuses to apologise over ex-husband’s £400k embezzlement

Nicola Sturgeon broke down in tears as she refused to apologize ‘for my ex-husband’s crimes’.

The former SNP leader has defied ex Peter Murrell, saying he was not responsible for his £400,000 embezzlement.

Ms Sturgeon choked back tears and her voice broke as she said she felt like she was ‘being punished for a crime she didn’t commit’.

She said she would not take responsibility for her well-being and that of ‘many women who find themselves responsible for the actions of the men in their lives’.

Murrell this week pleaded guilty to embezzling money from the SNP between 2010 and 2022.

The 61-year-old spent the money on a caravan, cars, kitchen appliances, expensive watches and pens, as well as more mundane purchases such as hand cream and toilet seats.

He will be sentenced in June, the month when the SNP faces two by-election contests, one in South Aberdeen and the other in Arbroath and Broughty Ferry.

The SNP has faced calls for an independent investigation into its finances.

Ex-SNP leader defies ex Peter Murrell, saying he is not responsible for £400,000 embezzlement

Ms Sturgeon was Scotland’s first minister from 2014 to 2023; Murrell served as chief executive of the SNP from 2001 to 2023.

In an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg program on Sunday, Ms Sturgeon said she would not ‘apologize for someone else’s crimes’.

She said: ‘For my own sake, but for the sake of people out there, I will not contribute to the feeling that I am responsible for someone else’s crimes, for the many women who find themselves blamed for the actions of the men in their lives.

‘I will take responsibility for the things I do, the decisions I make. I’m sitting here with you right now, answering questions because I believe strongly in that responsibility.

‘But I am not responsible for my ex-husband’s crimes and I will not apologize for anyone else’s crimes.’

Mrs Sturgeon previously said she was ‘fully cleared and exonerated’ by police and that her ex-husband lied to her.

“(Murrell) has committed a crime against the SNP,” he told the BBC.

‘By definition, this included me as party leader. He misled. He cheated.

‘He is and will be punished for a crime he committed. ‘I feel like I’m being punished here for a crime I didn’t commit.’

The Daily Mail revealed earlier this week that Ms Sturgeon had fled Scotland amid the political storm and is now renting a luxury home in Britain’s capital.

The move comes amid prosecutors’ attempts to recover some of the stolen money from her estranged fraudster husband, Murrell; This could lead to the couple’s family home being sold.

Sources close to Ms Sturgeon said she had acquired a property in London as she sought to launch a new career in the literary world and hoped to avoid the “heat” created by Murrell’s crimes.

A source said: ‘Nicola has found somewhere to stay in London and is renting it. It shouldn’t be a surprise that, as he said before, he moved away from here and tried to live somewhere else. Let’s face it; With all this going on, who wouldn’t want to escape?’

A second source also confirmed Ms Sturgeon’s departure, adding: ‘She goes there a lot for work so it made sense.’

Scottish Conservative Party deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: ‘It is typical of Nicola Sturgeon to dodge awkward questions. If he is fleeing Scotland to avoid being held accountable for his part in this scandal, this will reinforce his view that he has always put his own interests above other considerations.’

In August last year, Ms Sturgeon was widely criticized when she hinted she might leave Scotland and live in England. In an interview for the publication of her memoir, she admitted she could have gone to London and said she felt like she “couldn’t breathe freely” at home.

Sturgeon was kissed by her then-husband Murrell at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh after she was elected First Minister of Scotland in 2014.

He said: ‘I think being out of Scotland for a while might help me reset my perspective and be more selfish about it, distracting me a bit from the goldfish bowl review I’m still living in Scotland.’

Former Conservative MSP Tess White said the remarks were the ‘definition of hypocrisy’ considering ‘Sturgeon still wants Scotland to separate from the rest of the UK but is considering moving south for a while’.

The Mail also revealed Ms Sturgeon and Murrell’s family home could have been sold to pay for their crimes and the couple could have repaid their mortgage at the height of the burglary.

And the scammer’s relatives may have to return the gifts he gave them during his 12-year crime spree.

Glasgow-based criminal lawyer Ian Moir said prosecutors would now launch the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) process, which would put the onus on Murrell’s lawyers to prove that his assets, including his home, were not linked to his crimes.

The couple bought the four-bedroom detached house in Uddingston in 2005 for £228,000.

Ms Sturgeon revealed there were mortgages on ministerial interest records for 2011-2016.

But land records updated in 2020 show there was no mortgage, meaning the couple had paid off the debt by then.

The repayment timeline coincides with a spate of embezzlements that began in August 2010, a month after Murrell married Ms Sturgeon, but escalated from 2016, when he bought a Volkswagen Golf for £33,000 using £16,489 of SNP cash.

This may mean that some of the money stolen by Murrell was used to pay for the house, along with a large number of household items for the house and a specially equipped library for Ms Sturgeon to relax in. Mr Moir said: ‘The house is likely to be added to the list of assets as part of the proceeds of crime.

‘Nicola Sturgeon will then be able to enter what is called ‘the minute’. His lawyer will need to write to Scottish ministers informing them that his client is entitled to half the house.

‘This is not controversial as he has not been convicted of any crime.

‘Nicola Sturgeon can also say she wants to buy the other half but the money she pays will go to the proceeds of crime.’