PETER Murrell returned to court today – just a week after he pleaded guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP.
The party’s former chief executive arrived in a white prison van, wearing a dark blue suit with no tie.
He was then led into the courtroom in handcuffs. A hush fell over the gallery behind him – a few members of the public but mostly expectant journalists with pads and pens at the ready.
Murrell, who is also the estranged husband of Nicola Sturgeon, looked more unkempt than his last appearance.
Grey stubble had grown on the back of his neck and – perhaps unsurprising given his time in Saughton Prison awaiting this hearing – he had bags under his eyes.
He wasn’t here for his sentencing, that is later this month on June 23. No, this was the so-called prosecution “narrative” – the closest thing we will get to a trial.
In essence, the legal teams on both sides reached an agreement on the version of events that took place and set that out to the court – establishing the facts and circumstances around the case.
But what did we learn?
The how of the matter
The half-hour hearing went into a lot more detail into how Murrell covered his tracks over the years in which he embezzled more than £400k from the party over a 12-year period.
The court heard more about some of the false claims he made – using false invoices and misleading entries on the party’s accounting software.
For example, a robotic lawnmower – including installation – costing £3070 was misdescribed as spending on “legal fees”.
A hand-chased silver wine coaster from Hamilton & Inches jewellers costing £3500 , meanwhile, was misdescribed as spending on “leadership expenses”.
The court also heard that Murrell used an SNP bank account he had control of containing funds from membership fees, party donations and legacy payments.
He also used his SNP charge card, and those of two offer staff members – who were none the wiser – as well as direct bank transfers.
Murrell also created false invoices for an “Apple processor” and “studio light fittings” valued at more than £14,000.
He also filed fraudulent expense claims to fund the £12,000 deposit on the Jaguar I-PACE which cost a total of £81,000 – with false balances also created to fund the balance of that car.
When Peter Murrell first explored pleading guilty
The court heard that Murrell first instructed his lawyers to discuss a guilty plea over a charge of embezzlement in March 2026.
This was weeks after first being served with a dossier of evidence.
It took until May 25 to plead guilty officially as apparently discussions “took some time” due to the nature of the indictment and the lengthy schedules ie. all the various purchases.
More details about the famous motorhome
The court heard Murrell ordered a Niesmann and Bischoff Smove 7.4e motorhome in October 2020 at a total cost of £124,550, funding it entirely through SNP accounts via three charge-card deposits and four direct bank transfers.
It was registered to him personally, insured only for social, domestic and pleasure use, delivered to Halbeath Industrial Estate in January 2021 and then driven to his mother’s home in Dunfermline, where police later seized it with just four miles on the clock.
The description of the motorhome was apparently altered to describe a van and many details were removed including some of the additional options chosen by Murrell including “navigation systems and a television”.
The statement also revealed that the false invoice was then provided to the person responsible for adding items to the accounts.
Murrell apparently suggested to other party employees that the motorhome could have been used for campaigning purposes but it was not.
The statement went on: “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.”
It was also revealed that Murrell had ordered from three guides to inspirational journeys around Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland in a camper van or motorhome just a day after purchasing it.
Images of motorhome released as well as descriptions of what was within
The Crown Office released images of the motorhome as well as some of the items found within.
Notably, it included some of the kitchen items mentioned in the indictment including Le Creuset and Joseph Joseph kitchen implements, an Alessi teapot and various Molton Brown toiletries.
Motorhome ‘never seen by any other party member or employee'
The statement goes on to say that while the purchase of the motorhome was later raised by the auditor, it was then added to the party’s Fixed Asset Register and was “never used or seen by any other party member or employee.”
This was a really interesting line given the amount of scrutiny there has been of Sturgeon from opposition politicians and the press as to whether she knew anything – which she has vehemently denied, nodding to the fact Police Scotland have confirmed she would face no action.
