Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell jailed for five years and three months

Peter Murrell has been sentenced to five years and three months in prison for embezzling over £400,000 from the SNP.

The judge, Lord Young, described the crime as a “significant breach of trust”, with offending increasing in frequency and amount over time.

He said Murrell, 61, had been able to use his position within the organisation to “circumvent” checks and balances, though the nature of the embezzlement was “not particularly sophisticated”.

Young added it was only the detection of the crime which had brought it to an end. “This is a calculated crime of dishonesty,” he said.

Murrell pleaded guilty at the preliminary hearing on 25 May, at which point he was remanded in custody.

A narrative of the crimes was presented by prosecutors on 2 June, setting out how he had faked invoices and used colleagues’ accounts to steal the cash.

The former chief executive has offered to repay the full amount embezzled from the SNP.

At the sentencing at Edinburgh’s High Court today, his lawyer John Scullion KC said Murrell had accepted “full responsibility for his actions and does not seek to minimise his culpability in any way”.

“The accused is now an individual overwhelmed by feelings of embarrassment and shame,” Scullion added.

While accepting a custodial sentence was necessary, Scullion sought a shorter sentence as Murrell was a first-time offender, was able to repay the embezzled money, and according to the criminal social justice work report was at minimal risk of reoffending.

Scullion added the report set out that Murrell “recognises the harm caused not only to those directly affected by those actions, but also the broader societal impact of his dishonesty”.

He said Murrell is “now an individual overwhelmed by feelings of embarrassment and shame”, had “lived in almost total isolation” since charges were brought, and that he “recognises that he is entirely to blame for his predicament”.

Scullion said Murrell had been ostracised by friends and former colleagues and faced a “bleak and solitary” future after being released from custody.

The judge acknowledged that because Murrell had pleaded guilty at the preliminary hearing, a lengthy trial had been avoided. Had Murrell only been found guilty after a trial, he would have received a sentence of seven years.

Instead he was handed a shorter prison term, which will be backdated to late May when he was remanded.

However, the judge said he could not “identify any factors which caused you to offend which might be considered to be mitigatory factors”.

He added the sentence was in part to act as a deterrent to other senior officials in large organisations who may be tempted to abuse their positions of power.

Taking place over a period of 12 years, Murrell embezzled £400,315.65 from the SNP.

The items he bought ranged from an egg poacher (described as “ethernet cabling” in the SNP’s books) to a luxury campervan.

The motorhome parked outside Murrell's mother's house | COPFS

He was the SNP’s chief executive for more than two decades, including between 2014 and 2023 when his now estranged wife Nicola Sturgeon was first minister and party leader.

Sturgeon, and party treasurer Colin Beattie, were arrested but not charged during the police investigation.

Responding to Murrell's sentencing, a spokesperson for the SNP said: "The Scottish National Party welcomes the sentencing of Peter Murrell today for embezzling hundreds of thousands of pounds from us. 

“As chief executive, Peter Murrell was placed in a position of significant trust by the SNP, and he breached that trust in the most appalling manner.

“While Peter Murrell’s sentencing does offer significant closure for SNP members, we are still seeking recovery of the money he embezzled to allow us to spend it on the purposes for which our dedicated donors intended.”