How former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell spent the £400,000 he embezzled
A court is set to hear further details regarding how former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell embezzled goods valued at over £400,000 using party funds.
More than 100 pages of court documents have been released, revealing the extensive range of items he purchased over a 12-year period.
The list includes over 1,000 items, ranging from luxury goods and a £124,550 motorhome to everyday products such as hand cream.
Prior to Tuesday's hearing, BBC Scotland analyzed the scale and timing of Murrell's illicit purchases and compiled a searchable list of all the goods he admitted to buying.
What did Murrell buy with stolen SNP funds?
Murrell's embezzlement began with the purchase of two Ali Baba laundry baskets from Amazon in August 2010, just one month after his wedding to Nicola Sturgeon.
Court documents indicate that following this initial £70.89 expenditure, Murrell made a total of 1,066 purchases using embezzled SNP money between 2010 and October 2022.
The variety of goods is notable, spanning from extravagant items—such as Lalique salt and pepper grinders priced at £2,618—to mundane products like Loctite super glue costing £3.50.
Records show that on 4 July 2016, Murrell purchased a pair of Montblanc cufflinks for £215.
Six days later, the former SNP chief executive was photographed at the men's final of the Wimbledon tennis tournament alongside his then-wife Sturgeon, who was Scotland's first minister. Murrell was seen wearing cufflinks resembling those he had bought.
Murrell's purchases in pictures
The list of stolen items also includes over £2,000 worth of goods from Norwegian outdoor clothing brand Helly Hansen.
Murrell was photographed wearing this style of jacket on several occasions.
Additionally, there are multiple images of Sturgeon using expensive Montblanc pens similar to those on Murrell's list of stolen items.
Other photographs from media interviews at the Murrell and Sturgeon's former residence show what appears to be the same coffee machine model—a £1,299 Miele CM 6300 machine—that Murrell purchased.
Furthermore, a £943 library ladder listed among Murrell's purchases is visible in pictures taken inside their home.
Murrell also made 79 purchases in the lead-up to Christmas between 2010 and 2021.
These included computer and gaming technology such as a Nintendo DSi XL Console and Grand Theft Auto V for the PS4; two Vtriker kids scooters; a men's Slouch Pouch onesie; DVDs of the US crime drama series The Killing; and the book A Gentleman in Moscow.
However, it is not known whether these items were intended as gifts.
When did Murrell's spending peak?
Murrell was appointed SNP chief executive in 2001, but his criminal activity did not commence until nine years later.
Court documents reveal that spending began at a relatively low level but increased during 2013 and 2014, coinciding with the Scottish independence referendum.
By 2016, expenditures had risen sharply, with more than 100 items purchased worth tens of thousands of pounds.
Nearly 300 items were bought during the years covering the Covid pandemic, with spending peaking in 2020.
That year, Murrell acquired a luxury Niesmann and Bischoff Smove 7.4e motorhome for £124,550.
The day after purchasing the vehicle, the former SNP executive ordered a book titled Take the Slow Road: Inspirational Journeys Round England and Wales by Camper Van and Motorhome—one of three books he bought on the subject.
In subsequent months, he purchased accessories such as awning screw-in pegs for £15.98 and wheel clamps and keys for £119.98.
2020 was also when activists and SNP MPs first raised concerns about the whereabouts of £600,000 in donations intended to be ringfenced for independence campaigning.
Although spending continued, it did so at a much lower rate after these concerns were raised. In June 2021, Murrell loaned the party £107,620.
Police Scotland launched the Operation Branchform investigation into SNP finances the following month.
The embezzlement ceased in October 2022 with the purchase of two plastic food containers.
Murrell resigned as SNP chief executive in March 2023.
A breakdown of where the money went
High-value items such as the motorhome and a Jaguar car account for a significant portion of Murrell's spending, but aside from these, most money was spent on household goods.
He used SNP funds to buy several high-end coffee machines and luxury coffee beans.
Among luxury purchases, Murrell also acquired various everyday devices and gadgets, including a Karcher pressure washer (£469.95) and a Dyson V8 Cordless vacuum (£469.99).
Other assorted purchases included:
- Two Neutrogena hand creams (£2.50) as part of a larger purchase
- A bottle of Loctite super glue (£3.50)
- Curry sauce paste (£11.99)
Analysis of court documents shows multiple repeat purchases of the same items. For example, nine vacuum cleaners costing just under £4,000 were bought over four years.
The majority of items cost less than £100.
It is unclear what the SNP's internal procedures were for approving party expenditures, though it is common for senior executives to have authority to spend up to a certain amount without prior approval.
