Peter Murrell's £124k embezzled motorhome had 'just four miles' on the clock
Peter Murrell has appeared in court for an agreed narrative relating to his embezzlement of SNP funds was read out.
Peter Murrell drove just four miles in the £124,550 motorhome he purchased with embezzled SNP funds and used the vehicle to store kitchen items and toiletries he obtained through illegal means, a court has heard.
Murrell, the 61-year-old estranged husband of former first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, pleaded guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 of SNP funds made up from membership fees and donations.
A narrative of Murrell’s crimes, agreed between his defence team and prosecutors, was read out at a hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh, setting out detail of the former SNP chief executive’s actions.
The narrative, read out by Advocate depute Alan Cameron KC, illustrated that Murrell made three payments totalling £12,500 as a deposit for the Niesmann and Bischoff Smove 7.4e motorhome “as a deposit with his SNP charge card” on 14 October 20202, while the balance of £112,050 was paid by “four direct transfers from the SNP account” on 7 December, 2020.
Mr Campbell added: “The motor home was delivered to the accused at the Halbeath Industrial on 22 January 2021 and driven by him to his mother’s home in Dunfermline where it remained until it was seized by police officers on 5 April 2023.
“When seized the odometer showed that the vehicle had only ever been driven for four miles.”
The court heard that Murrell has “created a false invoice in the name of the motorhome dealer” with the customer address listed as SNP headquarters rather than his home address in Uddingston that Murrell had provided to the dealer.
“The account name was changed from ‘Murrell’ to ‘SNP – Murrell’”, the narrative added.
Murrell also altered the description of the motorhome “to describe a van rather than a motorhome”, while “many details were removed including those of the specification and additional options chosen by the accused which included security, tracking and navigation systems and a television”.
Mr Campbell added: “This false invoice was provided to the person responsible for adding items to the accounts.”
The court heard that the motorhome was “later raised” by the auditor and added to the SNP’s fixed asset register but “was never used or seen by any other party member or employee”.
Murrell was the registered keeper of the vehicle and was insured for social, domestic and pleasure purposes, and not for business.
Mr Campbell said “After its purchase the accused suggested to other party employees that the motorhome could have been used for campaigning purposes but it was not.
“When seized by police officers there were no campaign materials or other SNP paraphernalia within and the motorhome was not branded. It was configured exactly as a motorhome used for pleasure would be.”
The narrative set out that the day after Murrell had ordered the motorhome he purchased from Amazon “three guides to inspirational journeys around Scotland, England and Wales and Ireland in a camper van or motorhome”.
READ MORE: Peter Murrell scandal 'embarrassing internationally' for Scotland, says former first minister
Mr Campbell added: “Within the motorhome were a number of the items mentioned in the schedules to the indictment, including Le Creuset and Joseph Joseph kitchen implements, an Alessi teapot and various Molton Brown toiletries.”
Murrell mislabelled several items in the SNP’s accounting software, including a hand chased silver wine coaster from Hamilton and Inches jewellers, costing £3,500.
Mr Campbell said: “This item was misdescribed as spending on ‘leadership expenses’ with the description ‘Hamilton & Inches sterling silver presentation quaiches’.
“It was found at the accused’s home when it was searched by police.”
The court heard that Murrell, as CEO of the SNP, was “effectively in charge of the administrative side of the party”.
The agreed narrative states that Murrell “used party funds for a variety of unauthorised purposes”, totalling £400,310.65 of embezzled money.
Mr Campbell added: “The source of those funds was the party’s principal bank account over which the accused had control.
“The money within that account came principally from membership fees and donations paid by party members and other donors, and legacies.”
He added that Murrell “had direct access to the accounting system and could log items of expenditure himself”, stating that “the majority of such work was done by another staff member under his direction”.
The court heard that some of the hundreds of items Murrell purchased with embezzled funds “were recovered by police during their search of the accused’s home in April 2023”, with a “smaller number of others being recovered from the SNP headquarters”.
Mr Campbell added: “Others were found but left in situ at the accused’s home, including a fitted home library which was partly paid for with SNP funds, a wooden library ladder, a bathroom vanity unit, a kitchen unit for the boiler and fitted mats in the hallway.
“The majority of the items purchased were not found during the searches.”
On several occasions, former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, who annouced the end of her marriage to Mr Murrell in January 2025, gave online interviews in front of this home library, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic.
She also showed off her bookcase in a 2021 filmed interview in her Uddingston home, and said: “I now share a house with books rather than the other way round.”
Ms Sturgeon was arrested in 2023 as part of Operation Branchform, the Police Scotland inquiry into SNP funds, but was released without charge. She maintains she was unaware of Murrell’s criminal activities and said she has been betrayed by her former husband.
Murrell is due to be sentenced on June 23.