MP accuses Nicola Sturgeon of ‘lying’ about Peter Murrell and knowing ‘full well’ about his crimes

Tory MP David Davis has accused former first minister Nicola Sturgeon of “lying” about the crimes of her estranged husband Peter Murrell.

Murrell was jailed for more than five years after pleading guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP while he was chief executive.

Davis, a friend of the late first minister Alex Salmond, used parliamentary privilege to make a speech about the case in the House of Commons.

The Tory MP asked how Sturgeon could not have known how Murrell was funding purchases including a £124,000 motorhome.

He said: “My view on her denials is clear – she is lying. She knew full well what her husband was doing and how those luxury purchases were funded.”

Davis said Sturgeon kept Murrell in place as SNP chief executive despite warnings from Salmond, “enabling his crimes for years”.

He went on to accuse Sturgeon of “stitching up” Salmond to “hide the truth”.

In a statement issued via her lawyer, Sturgeon said: “This member of the ‘Old Boys Club’ has been spreading conspiracy theories on behalf of the late Alex Salmond since 2021 and now he is telling more lies about me.

“The fact that he hides like a coward behind the legal privilege of Westminster says everything we need to know about him.”

Murrell was arrested and charged as part of Police Scotland’s Operation Branchform. Officers also questioned Sturgeon but she was not charged as part of the investigation.

Sturgeon has repeatedly said she had no knowledge of her estranged husband’s criminality.

Earlier this week, the former SNP leader’s lawyer said the written statement provided to Police Scotland during its investigation into the SNP’s finances would not be made public, despite growing political pressure for her to publish it.

Aamer Anwar said: “Ms Sturgeon is innocent, as evidenced by the fact that she was not charged, prosecuted nor convicted of any crime.

“Having been exonerated through the proper process, there is no onus on her to now prove her innocence in the court of media opinion.”