Swinney ‘running scared’ of inquiry into Murrell scandal

A member of Holyrood’s standards committee has accused First Minister John Swinney of seeking to avoid scrutiny over the Peter Murrell scandal.

Earlier this week, Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee said it was willing to work alongside MSPs to address questions raised by Murrell’s embezzlement of party funds.

The former SNP chief executive, and estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, was jailed for more than five years last month after admitting to stealing more than £400,000 from the party he once ran.

Swinney has repeatedly ruled out a Holyrood inquiry into the matters raised by the case, with SNP MSPs instead backing a Scottish Greens’ amendment to hold an inquiry into all party financing.

Tory MSP Tim Eagle, a member of Holyrood’s Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, said the SAC now had “no option” but to investigate governance failings itself.

He said: “John Swinney is terrified of an investigation into the Peter Murrell scandal and he’s using every trick in the book to block one.

“He and Nicola Sturgeon enabled Murrell’s crime spree by ignoring and silencing whistleblowers who flagged up problems with the SNP’s finances.

“The SAC has bent over backwards to cooperate with the Scottish Parliament and encourage them to investigate this scandal, but it has been rebuffed at every turn.”

Holyrood’s standards committee is led by SNP MSP Jenni Minto. Eagle said he would be urging Labour and Reform members of the cross-party group to back an investigation into the Murrell affair, but said the SNP would likely use “every parliamentary means possible to thwart us, because Swinney is running scared”.

He added: “I therefore urge the SAC to press ahead with an inquiry of its own, as that appears to be the only way that the many questions this sordid affair has thrown up will be answered.”

The SAC previously said Holyrood was the “most appropriate place” to carry out an inquiry into the Murrell scandal. 

The Westminster committee has also written to the Commons’ authorities to query whether short money received from the public purse may have been involved.

The SNP received £8million between 2009-10 and 2021-22 – the period of Murrell’s offending.

In his response, Commons clerk Tom Goldsmith has said he had “no reason to believe there are systemic weaknesses with the system”, which requires annual independent audits. However, he said he would “look carefully” at the committee’s findings and recommendations.

Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission told SAC chair Patricia Ferguson it had seen “no evidence of misuse of policy development grant funds by the SNP” in annual compliance checks.