Sturgeon was 'utterly deceived' as Murrell sentenced for embezzlement

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon was “utterly deceived” by her estranged husband, who has been jailed for embezzling SNP funds.

Peter Murrell was sentenced to five years and three months behind bars at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday for stealing £400,000 from the party between August 2010 and October 2022.

The ex-chief executive of the SNP was told by Judge Lord Young that he had carried out “a significant breach of trust”.

He added that Murrell would have faced a seven-year sentence had he not pleaded guilty at the preliminary hearing.

The judge told the 61-year-old that he could not identify any factors that caused him to offend and that could be considered mitigatory.

He was originally accused of embezzling £459,049, but this was reduced to £400,310.65 between August 2010 and October 2022.

Murrell was jailed for five years and three months.

Sturgeon had also previously been arrested as part of the major operation, but was not charged with any offences.

Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell on their wedding day. STV News

In a statement issued on the former first minister’s behalf, solicitor Aamer Anwar reiterated that Sturgeon is “innocent of any crime”.

He also stated that she remains “angry, hurt and distressed” by the actions of her estranged husband.

Anwar added: “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 offence.

“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.

“Ms Sturgeon remains angry, hurt and distressed about the devastating impact of Mr Murrell’s actions on her, his family, friends and the SNP.

“Ms Sturgeon was utterly deceived and let down by her husband, whom she had trusted.

“Why he acted as he did will always be beyond her comprehension. She is utterly appalled that he did so and will never understand why.”

Scotland

Peter Murrell jailed for five years and three months for embezzling £400,000 from SNP

Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband previously admitted to stealing over £400,000 from the SNP

‘Figure of public ridicule’

Murrell’s lawyer, John Scullion KC, told the court that his client had “behaved dishonestly and gone to considerable lengths to cover his crimes”.

He added that he accepts full responsibility for his actions and that his guilty plea had been “life-changing” and had ended his career and future career prospects.

In his statement before sentencing, Mr Scullion said Murrell has been “overwhelmed by feelings of embarrassment and shame”

He added: “Since 2020, he has gradually withdrawn from social contact. He has lived in social isolation at times to the detriment of his health.

“He does not consider himself worthy of sympathy and acknowledges that a custodial sentence is deserved.”

Peter Murrell, the estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, pleaded guilty last month to embezzling more than £400,000. Getty Images

Murrell was described as being ostracised by his friends and many of his colleagues.

Mr Scullion said he has become “a figure of public ridicule” whose sentence may prove “lifelong”.

Seperation

In January 2025, Sturgeon announced that she and Murrell were ending their marriage “with a heavy heart”.

Speaking after he admitted embezzling funds from the SNP, she said she realised she had spent years married to someone she “didn’t know at all”.

She said it was a “really painful truth to process”.

The former first minister of Scotland said she was not aware of many of the items Murrell purchased with funds embezzled from the SNP, learning about them through newspaper reports.

Speaking at the Listowel Writers’ Week book festival in western Ireland in May, she said: “You’re coming to terms with the fact that you spent many years – I spent many years – married to somebody that, as it turns out, I obviously didn’t know at all.

“It’s a really painful truth to process, and I think I’m only in the very early stages of processing it.

“And then to be in a position of such public turmoil myself makes that even harder.”

Sturgeon also hit out at her critics and said she had been the subject of a “forensic” police investigation over the last two years and had been “completely exonerated”.

Responding to the question of how she couldn’t have known about her husband’s crimes, Sturgeon said it was a “big misassumption that she knew anything about it”.

She said she wanted people to hear her side of the story and said she understood the questions.

“We were two people on high salaries, no kids, I was doing a job, and this was another factor, I was doing a job, working around the clock, away from home a lot of the time,” she said.

“Maybe this doesn’t reflect well on me, I didn’t spend a lot of time in my kitchen. I don’t spend any time in my kitchen.

“I have been deceived, I’ve been misled, I’ve been lied to, and I’ve been betrayed.

“I’m not the first, and I won’t be the last woman that’s betrayed by her husband.”

Operation Branchform

Assistant chief constable Stuart Houston had oversight of Police Scotland’s investigation into the embezzlement, Operation Branchform.

ACC Houston said: “Today’s sentencing of Peter Murrell – and a sentence of such duration – is proof that those who flout the law, who break the trust of those around them, and who embezzle vast sums of money will not escape justice, regardless of how high a profile or role they may hold.

Peter Murrell arriving at the High Court of Edinburgh Getty Images

“Operation Branchform has been an extremely detailed, complex and intricate enquiry, carried out over a protracted period of time in order to ensure a thorough investigation which fully exposed the extent of this wrongdoing, committed over a sustained period of time.

“Murrell occupied a significant position of privilege and power in public life in Scotland, entrusted to oversee the day-to-day operations of the country’s governing political party. His undeniably deliberate and calculated actions to mislead and steal for his own personal gain has proved his disregard for those who placed their trust in him.

“People came forward and told us of their sense and experiences of things not being right, and they are to be publicly commended – their statements, combined with our investigations, have led to the outcome we see today.

“Through ongoing close work with key criminal justice partners, including the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, this enquiry resulted in the compilation of such a robust case that an early admission of guilt was secured, enabling proceedings to conclude sooner rather than later.

“My sincere thanks go to the officers and staff of Police Scotland, who have committed their specialist knowledge, professionalism, commitment and expertise to this matter from start to finish, and without whom we would not have been able to achieve justice.

“Work remains to be undertaken in regards to the Proceeds of Crime Act relating to this case by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. Police Scotland, and in particular the Cyber and Fraud Unit, will assist in this process and in any further investigations which may be required.”