Former Scottish leader's ex-husband lands 5 years in prison over embezzlement scandal

MANCHESTER, England (CN) — Peter Murrell, the former chief executive of Scotland’s governing nationalist party, was sentenced Tuesday to five years and three months in prison after admitting he embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from the party over more than a decade.

A judge at the High Court in Edinburgh said he would have imposed a seven-year sentence had Murrell — who is the estranged husband of former Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon — been convicted after a trial, but reduced it because he pleaded guilty at a preliminary hearing.

Murrell, 61, admitted stealing nearly $540,000 from the Scottish National Party (SNP) between 2010 and 2022.

He arrived at court handcuffed to a prison officer, wearing a dark suit and navy tie.

Murrell faces further punishment.

A proceeds of crime hearing is scheduled for Sept. 14, when prosecutors are expected to seek recovery of the money he stole from the party.

Any confiscation order would force him to surrender assets linked to his crimes, potentially stripping him of much of the wealth he accumulated through the thefts.

Who is Murrell?

Murrell spent years building the pro-independence, center-left SNP into Scotland’s dominant political force while secretly stealing from the organization he helped lead.

As chief executive from 2001 to 2023, he helped transform the SNP from a fringe party into a governing machine that won multiple Scottish and U.K. elections, dominating Scottish politics for nearly two decades.

He was married to Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister from 2014 to 2023 and one of the U.K.’s best-known politicians.

Together, they were viewed as one of the country’s most powerful political couples.

Sturgeon stepped down in March 2023 and was arrested in June 2023 during the wider investigation but was later released without charge. She announced they were ending their marriage in 2025.

The sentencing closes one chapter of a sprawling police investigation that has eroded public trust in the SNP, though questions remain about Murrell’s motives.

“It is very difficult to get a clear picture of what drove your actions,” Judge Lord Young said. “Many of the high-value items acquired by you were not even used.”

Operation Branchform

Prosecutors previously told the court he used fake invoices, false accounting records and misleading expense claims to conceal purchases that ranged from luxury watches and a Jaguar electric vehicle to a luxury motorhome, nine vacuum cleaners and an egg poacher.

His lawyer, John Scullion, said at sentencing that Murrell accepted full responsibility and was “overwhelmed by feelings of embarrassment and shame.”

Police Scotland opened its investigation after receiving a complaint about possible mismanagement of SNP finances in March 2021 from political activist Sean Clerkin.

Officers later received about a dozen additional reports, many from party donors.

The force launched Operation Branchform, a four-year investigation led by specialist economic crime detectives.

Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Houston said the prison sentence showed people who “embezzle vast sums of money will not escape justice, regardless of how high a profile or role they may hold.”

Houston said Murrell’s “calculated” crimes showed “his disregard for those who placed their trust in him.”

Outside court, Clerkin said he had no sympathy for Murrell.

“There are people who have donated money and have since died and their families are left feeling angry,” he said.

Clerkin also said Sturgeon still had questions to answer.

In a statement issued through her lawyer, Aamer Anwar, she emphasized that investigators found no evidence she committed any crime.

“Whilst anonymous sources have desperately tried to insinuate guilt, it is clear following a two-year gold-plated and robust investigation, Ms. Sturgeon was neither charged, prosecuted nor convicted of any offense,” Anwar said.

“Ms. Sturgeon is innocent of any crime and whilst that might be a source of annoyance for some, it remains a fact that it was Mr. Murrell who was charged, tried, convicted and imprisoned for his crimes today.”

While Sturgeon will not face further formal police questioning, she continues to face public and political questioning about how much she knew of her husband’s embezzlement.

Several purchases were linked to the Glasgow home Murrell shared with Sturgeon.

Police found a silver wine coaster worth about $4,700 at the property. Prosecutors also cited a fitted home library, a cabinet for a boiler and hallway mats purchased using party funds.

Sturgeon has repeatedly denied knowing anything about Murrell’s actions.

Murrell left the High Court in the back of a prison van.

In Scotland, Murrell is classified as a “long-term prisoner” and will become eligible for parole after serving half his sentence. He could also be released earlier under a home detention curfew program that uses electronic monitoring and restrictions on movement.

Courthouse News reporter James Francis Whitehead is based in England.

Follow @jayfranklinlive