New documents reveal John Swinney told about Murrell charges a year ago
New documents also show the First Minister was told the amount Peter Murrell was accused of embezzling as early as March 2025.
New documents reveal Scotland’s top law officer told First Minister John Swinney that Peter Murrell was facing embezzlement charges totalling £460,000 a year ago.
The documents show Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC made the First Minister aware of the charges as early as March 2025, 10 months before they were made public.
She has also dismissed claims she misled parliament as “entirely baseless”.
Ms Bain has now written to Holyrood’s Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone setting out details of all the previous court cases that had been discussed privately with the Scottish Government.
This includes the Glasgow bin lorry crash, the death of Sheku Bayoh, cases relating to the Lockerbie bombing, deaths at Polmont YOI, and the Glasgow Airport terrorist attack.
In her letter, Ms Bain said: “It was appropriate as head of the system of prosecution for me to advise the government of this development in such a high-profile police investigation.”
She added: “I have been criticised for saying the terms of the indictment can become public at any time after service. I did not mislead parliament.”
Her letter ended: “Any suggestion that I have acted inappropriately or have misled parliament in this matter is entirely baseless.
“I have demonstrated the appropriate basis for my communication with the First Minister and parliament.”
She also said the practice of advising government of significant prosecution decisions was a “longstanding one” and “entirely consistent” with practices elsewhere in the UK and the Commonwealth.
The documents attached to the letter show Ms Bain sent an email to Mr Swinney on 20 March 2025 with an update on Operation Branchform, the police investigation into SNP finances.
The email asked the First Minister to “note the update” that the Crown had decided that Mr Murrell, the SNP’s former chief executive, should appear on petition at Edinburgh Sheriff Court “charged with embezzling over £460,000 from the SNP”.
This comes after it was revealed Ms Bain sent a private minute to Mr Swinney in January warning him about the court case against Mr Murrell. The minute was then passed on to Colin McAllister, the First Minister’s chief of staff.
However, these details were only made public weeks later, which opposition parties say means the SNP had advanced access to sensitive information.
Ms Bain appeared in the Scottish Parliament last week and promised to release all documents detailing when communications of this nature had happened in the past.
Scottish Labour says the disclosure of these documents by the Crown Office "raises far more questions than they answer”.
Dame Jackie Baillie MSP, the party’s deputy leader, said: “John Swinney received crucial information almost a year ago, while journalists and the public were kept in the dark.
“The people of Scotland deserve transparency from our government and they need to know that all criminal cases are handled impartially and without political interference.
“The Lord Advocate must explain why she told John Swinney information that the Crown Office refused to make public and well before any indictment was concluded.
“John Swinney must come clean and tell us why he was given this information and whether he or his government applied pressure on our justice system to ensure he was clued up on this case.”
Ms Baillie has since suggested Ms Bain be investigated for breaching the ministerial code. As Lord Advocate, she is a member of the Scottish Government.
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay added: “It’s shocking to now discover that the Lord Advocate tipped off John Swinney about details of the highly sensitive criminal case against Nicola Sturgeon’s husband almost a year ago.
“While she gave Mr Swinney this dubious private briefing, the Crown Office was refusing to provide the same details to the public and the media who were kept in the dark.
“The SNP justice system operates on two tiers - the top tier of John Swinney and his SNP spin doctors get secret information, while the bottom tier of everyone else in Scotland is told nothing.
“Sleekit Swinney should explain why he failed to come clean about getting this information almost a year ago, and when the Lord Advocate was being questioned in parliament last week, why did she not come clean about her previous disclosure?
“This bombshell revelation adds to the existing stink and now explains why Mr Swinney has become increasingly shrill in his desperate attempts to deflect attention.”
He added Ms Bain must return to parliament to “give a full statement and straight answers”, and said this development “surely sounds the death knell for the Lord Advocate’s dual role”.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.