Nicola Sturgeon faces calls to explain what she knew about her ‘thieving magpie’ husband Peter Murrell embezzling £400,000 from the SNP and splashing it on expensive goodies

Nicola Sturgeon faces growing demands to reveal what she knows about her estranged husband’s use of SNP funds after he admitted embezzling more than £400,000 from the party.

Critics said it was inconceivable that the former prime minister and nationalist leader was unaware of what Peter Murrell was doing during the more than a decade they led the party.

Murrell, 61, who was the nationalists’ chief executive for 22 years, is behind bars today after admitting his guilt in court. Supreme Court Edinburgh this morning.

He used the money to buy a caravan worth £125,000 and other luxury items such as Lalique salt and pepper grinders worth £2,600 and Fortum and Masonic advent calendars worth £200 per person.

He was accused of embezzling a total of £400,310.65 between August 2010 and January 2023. Ms Sturgeon’s nine-year tenure as SNP leader and First Minister of Scotland.

Ms Sturgeon was investigated by Police Scotland over the missing funds but the force said last year she would not face any further action. He denies any wrongdoing.

Today Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said ‘thieving magpie’ Murrell had ‘used much of the stolen money to cushion his marital nest’.

“His crime spree took place right under his nose for many years while they collectively had a vise-like grip on the SNP,” he said.

You’d have to be a particularly gullible member of Nicola Sturgeon’s fan club to swallow her implausible objections to her ignorance of her husband’s criminal rackets.

Scottish Labor deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: ‘It is inconceivable that Nicola Sturgeon knew nothing about the massive fraud taking place before her eyes, both in her party and at home, from which she benefited.

He used the SNP’s money to buy items including a £125,000 caravan and other luxury goods, as well as buying two cars.

He was accused of misappropriating funds between August 2010 and January 2023, covering Ms Sturgeon’s time as leader and First Minister of Scotland.

‘When questions began to arise about finances and we needed to know why, it was Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP party machinery who tried to close ranks and stop the scrutiny.

‘John Swinney needs to come clean and explain what he and the party knew.’

Murrell arrived at the Supreme Court in a dark black suit and black tie and was taken into custody after confessing to his shocking crime.

This will send shockwaves through nationalist ranks and comes just weeks after the SNP retained its grip on Holyrood in the Scottish Parliament election.

Details of the charges he faced were made public in February, months after he split from his wife.

The former party boss was first arrested in April 2023 and charged in April 2024 as part of a police investigation into the SNP’s finances.

He appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in March 2025, where he faced charges of embezzlement and entered no plea.

The indictment included allegations that Murrell used party funds to purchase a caravan worth £124,550 for his own personal use in 2020.

Murrell was chief executive of the SNP for more than 20 years until he resigned during the leadership race to replace Ms Sturgeon in 2023.

For many years they were one of the most powerful couples in UK politics; Ms Sturgeon served as Scotland’s first minister and leader of the SNP for more than eight years, while Mr Murrell was the party’s chief executive.

Murrell used his money to buy various items, including a caravan and luxury goods, and to purchase two cars

In January last year, Ms Sturgeon announced that she and Murrell had ‘decided to end’ their marriage.

Murrell’s conviction is the result of a police investigation called Operation Branchform, which was first launched in 2021.

The operation investigated the finances and finances of the SNP and included several high-profile arrests.

The cost of policing the long-running investigation has exceeded £2 million.