Inside Peter Murrell’s £124,550 luxury motorhome bought with embezzled SNP cash
Pictures revealing the inside of a £124,550 luxury motorhome illicitly purchased by ex-SNP boss Peter Murrell have been released.
The former party chief executive appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh in handcuffs on Tuesday after pleading guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from party funds. In a damning 30-minute statement, advocate depute Alan Cameron KC revealed how Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband used charge cards, fake invoices, and bank transfers to fund lavish purchases from cash. The funds in that account came mainly from membership fees and donations.
The Crown Office released images of the Niesmann and Bischoff motorhome purchased in October 2020, which Murrell kitted out with Molton Brown toiletries and kitchenware from luxury brands Le Creuset and Joseph Joseph. The court heard that when police seized the vehicle from his mother’s house in Dunfermline, the odometer showed it had only been driven for four miles.
Mr. Cameron said it was described as a “van rather than a motorhome” when the invoice was filed, adding: “It was never used or seen by any other party member or employee.”
The court also heard that a £3,000 robotic lawnmower was only found when police searched his house. This was misdescribed as “legal fees” in the SNP’s accounting software. A silver wine coaster worth £3,500 was described as “leadership expenses.”
More than £42,000 was spent on 383 items from Amazon, which were not for party purposes and mostly delivered to his home address or SNP HQ, Mr. Cameron said.
Murrell falsified accounting records and created fake invoices in a bid to cover up his wrongdoing as he racked up purchases. A list published when he entered his plea included two Bremont watches for a total of £9,350, two Montblanc Boheme Noir fountain pens for £1,407, and a £3,500 Hamilton and Inches silver wine coaster.
Court documents show he created a false invoice for £57,500 to buy a £81,277 Jaguar I-Pace, which he then sold for £47,378. He used £16,489 of SNP funds for a £32,989 Volkswagen Golf.
He also made lower-end purchases, including £2.50 Neutrogena hand cream, staples for £4, and Chinese takeaway curry sauce paste for £12. He also splashed out on a £67 toilet seat.
Murrell was first arrested in 2023 as part of Operation Branchform, a probe into potential mismanagement of the SNP’s finances. He had stepped down as SNP chief executive a few weeks earlier following a row over membership figures.
His guilty plea has triggered intense scrutiny of Ms. Sturgeon, who denies knowledge of his crimes. The former Scottish First Minister said at the weekend she was "serving a sentence for a crime I didn’t commit".
In an interview with the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show, she said: "I am not responsible for the crimes that my former husband committed and I’m not going to apologize for somebody else’s crimes."
Ms. Sturgeon was arrested and questioned as part of the investigation but Police Scotland confirmed she would face no action.
There have also been calls for an independent investigation into the SNP’s finances.
First Minister John Swinney said on Tuesday that Murrell had committed a “colossal breach of trust” and admitted his crimes show "there has not been, in every respect, adequate controls in place". He said: “The systems that were in place should not have been able to be abused, but they were.”
However, he insisted this issue has now been addressed, setting out various steps the party has taken since he became leader to improve financial governance.
Murrell appeared in court dressed in a dark blue suit and black tie and gave a nod to his lawyer John Scullion KC as he was led to the dock. He has been remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on June 23.
Head of Investigations
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