Call for Joint Holyrood-Westminster Inquiry into Peter Murrell’s Embezzlement

Call for Joint Inquiry into Murrell’s Financial Crimes

The UK and Scottish parliaments should conduct a joint inquiry into Peter Murrell's financial crimes, former Labour first minister Jack McConnell has stated.

Murrell, the former SNP chief executive and estranged husband of Nicola Sturgeon, pleaded guilty last week to embezzling over £400,000 from the party over a 12-year period.

Lord McConnell has urged Westminster's Public Accounts Committee and Holyrood's Public Audit Committee to collaborate on investigating the scandal.

This call followed Nicola Sturgeon's denial, during an interview with the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, that she covered up any financial issues within the party or had knowledge of Murrell's wrongdoing.

McConnell Advocates for a Joint Parliamentary Investigation

McConnell, who served as first minister from 2001 to 2007, told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast that he

would like to see the two parliaments coming together

to investigate the embezzlement.

The peer expressed concerns that a standalone inquiry by Holyrood might be perceived as presiding over a

cover up

, while a Westminster-only inquiry could be seen as conducting

a hatchet job

on the SNP.

Lord McConnell emphasized that a joint investigation should also examine the relationship between Scotland's prosecution service—the Crown Office—and politicians within the Scottish government, to determine if it has become excessively close.

Furthermore, he suggested the inquiry should assess whether public funds allocated to the SNP at Westminster were implicated in the embezzlement and consider introducing safeguards for small donors to political parties and movements.

Let's get to the bottom of this and let's ensure that political parties and political movements in the future and perhaps also the governance of Scotland in relation to the legal system are protected in the interests of the public.

Practical Challenges and Calls for Separate Inquiries

It remains unclear how a joint inquiry would operate in practice, as no such inquiry has been conducted in the 27 years since the Scottish Parliament was established.

There have also been calls for separate inquiries by Holyrood and Westminster.

First Minister John Swinney's Opposition to an Inquiry

First Minister John Swinney has previously dismissed calls for any parliamentary inquiry, arguing that the SNP has improved its governance and oversight, and that an inquiry would add nothing beyond the extensive police investigation.

Swinney has also denied that any public funds from the UK Parliament were involved in the embezzlement and stressed that the prosecution service operates independently from the government.

Lord McConnell criticized Swinney's stance, calling it a

big mistake

and accusing the SNP leadership of

digging their heels in

.

He urged Swinney to

reflect

that a joint inquiry could serve the public interest and potentially benefit the party as well.

Criticism of SNP Leadership and Transparency Concerns

Critics have accused Swinney and Sturgeon of dismissing concerns about SNP finances.

They highlight the resignation of former treasurer Douglas Chapman in 2021, who stated he was not provided with sufficient information to fulfill his role effectively.

In the same year, former MP Joanna Cherry resigned from the SNP ruling body citing a lack of transparency. She has recently claimed that concerns raised were ignored by party leaders.

Nicola Sturgeon told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg,

I reject completely the notion that people were trying to alert the party to the kind of behaviour that Peter pled guilty to on Monday.

Swinney stated last week that he was not

not conscious

of having suppressed concerns about party finances.

Sturgeon's Police Investigation and Murrell's Sentencing

Sturgeon was arrested and released without charge in 2023 as part of the police investigation into SNP finances. She was informed last year that she was no longer under investigation.

The former first minister, who was jointly responsible for approving SNP accounts during her eight years leading the party, told the BBC that if there had been anything in the accounts that could have alerted her, the police

might have reached a different position

regarding her.

Peter Murrell is scheduled to be sentenced next month.