Sturgeon Says Murrell Betrayed Her Over £400,310 SNP Embezzlement
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 28
Sturgeon Says Murrell Betrayed Her Over £400,310 SNP Embezzlement
5 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 28
Nicola Sturgeon said she was "deceived, betrayed and lied to" by estranged husband Peter Murrell in her first public remarks since his guilty plea.
Murrell admitted at Edinburgh's High Court to embezzling £400,310.65 from the SNP between 2010 and 2022, spending party funds on luxury goods, jewellery, two cars and a motorhome.
Sturgeon, speaking at a memoir event in County Kerry, said it had been the "worst week" of her life and that she was still being blamed for crimes she says were not hers.
Police Scotland had investigated Sturgeon under Operation Branchform but released her without charge; she was told last year she was no longer under investigation.
Murrell was remanded in custody, faces sentencing on 23 June, and the case keeps pressure on the SNP even as First Minister John Swinney rejects a separate Holyrood inquiry.
How did one man steal £400,000 from Scotland's ruling party over a decade without anyone noticing?
Was Scotland's ex-leader a victim of betrayal or willfully blind to a decade of crime in her own home?