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Sturgeon breaks silence on SNP embezzlement scandal
Scotland's former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has described herself as a victim of her estranged husband's crimes, telling the BBC she feels like she is "serving a sentence for a crime I did not commit."
No apology for husband's £400,000 theft
In an emotional interview with BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg, Sturgeon refused to apologise for the scandal involving Peter Murrell, who admitted embezzling £400,000 from the Scottish National Party (SNP) between 2010 and 2022. Murrell, the party's former chief executive and Sturgeon's husband for over 30 years, pleaded guilty in Edinburgh's High Court on Monday.
Sturgeon, who led the SNP from 2014 to 2023, insisted she had no knowledge of Murrell's actions. "I am not responsible for the crimes that my former husband committed, and I'm not going to apologise for somebody else's crimes," she said.
Gifts bought with stolen money
Sturgeon became visibly distressed as she recounted receiving gifts from Murrell that were later revealed to have been purchased with misappropriated funds. Among them was a £400 necklace she frequently wore in public, which she described as a "beautiful" pendant from a Shetland jeweller.
"I loved that necklace and I wore it a lot. To then find out that these were gifts given to me that he'd bought with the party's money causes a level of pain, bewilderment... I'm not sure I will ever properly come to terms with that."
Nicola Sturgeon
The largest single transaction involved a £124,550 motorhome parked at Murrell's mother's home, which Sturgeon said she had no memory of seeing. Other items included jewellery, handbags, coffee machines, and games consoles.
Calls for further scrutiny grow
Sturgeon's interview drew mixed reactions. UK government minister Pat McFadden warned against a "culture of control and secrecy" within the SNP, while Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Conservative MP Chris Philp demanded a Holyrood inquiry into the party's finances. Former SNP MP Joanna Cherry accused Sturgeon of deflecting legitimate scrutiny, calling her argument a "straw man."
First Minister John Swinney, however, dismissed calls for an inquiry, stating that the police investigation and court proceedings had already provided clarity. "You can't get a standard of investigation any higher in Scotland than a forensic police investigation that results in a successful High Court prosecution and a guilty plea," he said.
Sturgeon denies responsibility despite leadership role
Despite sharing oversight of the SNP's accounts as party leader, Sturgeon rejected suggestions that she should have detected the fraud. "I reject completely the notion that people were trying to alert the party to the kind of behaviour that Peter pled guilty to," she said. She also ruled out contributing financially to recover the stolen funds, arguing that her assets-including her marital home-were unrelated to the embezzlement.
Murrell, who resigned as SNP chief executive in March 2023 amid controversy over membership figures, was arrested weeks later as part of Operation Branchform. He remains in custody ahead of sentencing on 23 June.
A personal and political toll
Sturgeon, who was herself questioned by police in the investigation before being released without charge, described the emotional fallout of the scandal as inescapable. "The idea that emotionally, practically I can just skip away from this is not true," she said. "The price I pay is for something I didn't do."
"Peter will pay a price rightly for what he's done, but he's paying a price for something he did do. I'm out here feeling as if I'm serving a sentence for a crime I did not commit."
Nicola Sturgeon
