Peter Murrell, the husband of former head of the Scottish government, Nicola Sturgeon, has been charged in connection with the embezzlement of Scottish National Party funds.
Sturgeon was briefly arrested alongside her husband last year as part of the same investigation into £600,000 of SNP finances which began in July 2021. At that time, neither individual was charged.
Murrell, who was the chief executive of the SNP while his wife was first minister, was re-arrested on Thursday and was interviewed by detectives for nine hours. Sturgeon has not been re-interviewed. Neither has former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie, who was also questioned last year.
The investigation has focused on complaints that donations given to the SNP during Scotland’s independence referendum campaign were used on other things.
Scottish Conservatives Chairman Craig Hoy described the charge as a “very serious development.” He told reporters:
It’s vital that all SNP politicians and staff now fully cooperate with this probe. … The SNP must now commit to full openness and transparency so that officers can bring to a conclusion this investigation into … murky finances.
The SNP itself described the news as “a shock,” and refused to give any further comment. Indeed, reporting restrictions mean there are few other details that can be released at this time.
But it is clear that the story, which features on the front page of every British newspaper today, comes as another blow to the SNP, which is already struggling to deal with the backlash to its hated hate crime law.
