Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband Peter Murrell is behind bars after admitting  embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP while he ran it.

Murrell, who was the nationalists’ chief executive for 22 years, pleaded guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh this morning.

He used the SNP’s money to buy items including a £125,000 motorhome and other luxury goods, and towards the purchase of two cars. 

He was accused of embezzling funds totalling £400,310.65 between August 2010 and January 2023, a period which included Ms Sturgeon’s nine-year tenure as SNP leader and First Minister of Scotland. 

He arrived at the High Court wearing a sombre black suit with a black tie, and was remanded in custody after entering his shock guilty plea.

It will send shockwaves through nationalist ranks, and comes just weeks after the SNP retained its grip of power on Holyrood in the Scottish Parliament elections. 

Details of the charges he faced became public in February, months after he split from his wife.

Ms Sturgeon was investigated by Police Scotland about the missing funds but the force revealed last year that she would face no further action. She denies any wrongdoing.

Today Scottish Labour Deputy Leader Jackie Baillie said: ‘It is inconceivable that Nicola Sturgeon knew nothing about the large-scale fraud, which she benefited from, taking place under her nose in both her party and her home.

Murrell, who was the nationalists’ chief executive for 22 years, pleaded guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh this morning

He was accused of embezzling the funds between August 2010 and January 2023, a period which included Ms Sturgeon’s tenure and leader and First Minister of Scotland 

‘It was Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP party machine that attempted to close ranks and shut down scrutiny when questions about the finances started to emerge and we need to know why.’

‘It was Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP party machine that attempted to close ranks and shut down scrutiny when questions about the finances started to emerge and we need to know why.

‘John Swinney needs to come clean and explain what he knew and what the party knew.’

The former party boss was first arrested in April 2023 as part of the police investigation into the SNP’s finances, and was charged in April 2024.

He appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in March 2025 where he faced a charge of embezzlement, making no plea.

The indictment included allegations that in 2020 Murrell used party funds to buy a £124,550 motorhome for his own personal use.

Until he stood down in 2023 during the leadership race to succeed Ms Sturgeon, Murrell had been chief executive of the SNP for more than 20 years.

They had previously been one of the most powerful couples in UK politics for many years, with Ms Sturgeon serving for more than eight years as Scottish first minister and SNP leader, while Mr Murrell was the chief executive of the party.

Murrell used he cash to buy items including a motorhome and luxury goods, and towards the purchase of two cars

In January last year, Ms Sturgeon announced she and Murrell had “decided to end” their marriage.

Murrell’s conviction is the result of a police investigation called Operation Branchform, which was first launched in 2021.

The operation investigated the SNP’s funding and finances and involved several high-profile arrests.

The policing cost of the long-running investigation reached more than £2 million.