Call for Independent Inquiry into SNP Financial Mismanagement
A former SNP MP, Joanna Cherry, has urged for an independent investigation into how Peter Murrell, the former SNP chief executive, was able to embezzle over £400,000 from the party.
Cherry also criticised Nicola Sturgeon, the former first minister and Murrell's estranged wife, accusing her of exhibiting "a remarkable lack of curiosity" regarding concerns about the party's finances.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast, Cherry expressed her desire for clarity on why attempts to probe allegations of financial mismanagement were obstructed by party leadership.
Sturgeon, who was arrested during the police inquiry into SNP finances but later informed she would face no further action, has stated she had "no knowledge or suspicion whatsoever" about Murrell's criminal activities.
Cherry resigned from the SNP's national executive committee in 2021, citing transparency issues.
"I would like to see a properly independent inquiry into how this was allowed to happen and in particular into why the efforts of those of us who were elected to get to the bottom of the party's governance and financial mismanagement were frustrated from doing so, and frustrated from doing so in pretty unpleasant circumstances."
She further told the BBC,
"It wasn't just that we didn't get an answer to our questions - we were demonised for asking the questions and one by one we all resigned from the national executive committee.
There just seemed to be a remarkable lack of curiosity on the part of Nicola Sturgeon and other members of the national executive committee at that time - some of whom are now members of the Scottish Parliament and I think they have questions to answer as well."
Cherry revealed that she first raised concerns in 2019 about funds donated to a ring-fenced account established by the SNP to finance a second independence referendum.
She stated that the fund, approximately £600,000, "appeared to have been spent on other things."
The former MP and several colleagues campaigned for senior SNP roles on a platform focused on uncovering the fate of those funds and enhancing the party's internal governance.
"Nicola Sturgeon ran that party with a rod of iron, hand and glove with her husband,"Cherry said.
"There was very little transparency and those of us who asked questions were treated as traitors to the party."
Cherry alleged that members of the finance and audit committee found Murrell unwilling to disclose financial records, while inquiries from the national executive committee encountered a "brick wall."
She was removed from the SNP's Westminster frontbench team in 2021 for "unacceptable behaviour," some of which she attributed to her financial scrutiny efforts.
"Nicola Sturgeon is very keen to paint herself as the victim here and to underline she is not guilty of any criminality.
But what she is guilty of is a remarkable lack of curiosity and deliberate frustration of the attempts of those of us who were curious."
Cherry emphasized,
"My issue is not so much whether she knew what was going on, my issue is why did she frustrate the attempts of those of us who were elected to do the job of financial scrutiny within the party?"
Details of Murrell's Embezzlement and Sturgeon's Response
Peter Murrell, aged 61, pleaded guilty on Monday to embezzling £400,310.65 from the SNP between August 2010 and October 2022.
The misappropriated funds were used to purchase various items including a motorhome, luxury goods, two cars, designer kitchenware, multiple pairs of shoes, expensive pens, and a £1,200 space telescope.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in June.
Sturgeon has maintained she had "no knowledge or suspicion whatsoever that personal items had been purchased using SNP funds."
In a statement issued via her lawyer Aamer Anwar, she clarified that she and Murrell had separate bank accounts and she did not have access to his financial records.
"In relation to many of the items in question, for example expensive watches and games consoles, I was not aware of them having been purchased at all,"she said.
Sturgeon added that both she and Murrell earned high salaries and stated,
"In respect of any items I was aware of Peter having purchased, I had no reason to doubt that he had used his own money."
Party Leadership's Reaction and Political Responses
SNP leader and Scottish First Minister John Swinney issued an apology to those affected by Murrell's crimes, describing the money as "stolen" from the party and accusing Murrell of "whole-scale deception."
He acknowledged the party had been "badly, badly, badly let down" by its former chief executive and characterized Murrell's guilty plea as "an admission of a terrible breach of trust and an overwhelming betrayal."
When asked on Tuesday whether Cherry was owed an apology, Swinney did not provide a direct answer.
He stated the party was managing "very, very difficult matters inspired by criminal conduct," which he described as "wholly and completely unacceptable."
Swinney also said he was "not conscious" of having suppressed concerns about party finances when they were raised by members.
Earlier, Sir Keir Starmer commented that Swinney had questions to answer regarding Murrell's crime.
The prime minister remarked,
"I think anybody looking at what's happening up in Scotland will be baffled that those at the top of the SNP say they didn't know anything about what was going on."
Swinney responded,
"I don't really think I'll be listening much to what Keir Starmer says to me about anything."
Criticism from Political Figures and Party Officials
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay criticized Sturgeon, saying,
"You would need to be a particularly gullible member of Nicola Sturgeon's fan club to swallow her preposterous protestations of ignorance about her husband's criminal racket."
The SNP's former national treasurer, Colin Beattie, was also arrested during the police investigation but, like Sturgeon, faced no further action.
Beattie stated that Murrell went to "extreme criminal lengths" to conceal his actions and expressed feeling "utterly appalled" and "genuinely hurt" by Murrell's conduct.
When asked if he should have detected financial irregularities, Beattie noted that police acknowledged Murrell's efforts to cover up the embezzlement.
Although other party officials had raised transparency concerns, Beattie declined to comment further.
Former SNP chair Kirsten Oswald responded to claims that debate about SNP finances had been suppressed, saying Swinney "spoke for all of us" when he expressed shock, disappointment, and devastation on Monday.
She added that the police investigation had thoroughly examined the issue and clearly identified where wrongdoing occurred.
