Orcadian Column, 28/5/2026
OK, who knew it was even possible to spend £110 on a pencil sharpener? Just one item on a truly astonishing list of purchases made by former SNP Chief Executive, Peter Murrell using funds embezzled from the party’s coffers. It has all the makings of a mash-up between Bullseye, The Generation Game and, in all likelihood, Porridge.
The campervan undoubtedly grabbed the headlines, spawning a multitude of memes and spoofs over the course of a five-year police investigation, but the spending spree included everything from sports cars to coffee machines; clothing to jewellery. As Mr Murrell boasted to one Shetland jeweller, while buying a necklace for his then wife, Nicola Sturgeon, ‘I’m the man with all the money’. Indeed so. It’s just that the money wasn’t actually his.
To be clear, these brazen crimes were all committed by Peter Murrell. Yet, there are serious questions for the SNP leadership to answer. For years, concerns were raised repeatedly about the risks in having Mr Murrell and Ms Sturgeon holding the two most senior roles in the governing party. Those concerns were arrogantly brushed aside.
Ms Sturgeon claims, perhaps justifiably, that she knew nothing and feels betrayed by her former husband. However, in 2021 when the allegations first surfaced, she was vehement in her insistence both publicly to the media and in private to the SNP’s ruling body that there was ‘nothing wrong with the party’s finances’. At best, she showed a reckless lack of curiosity about establishing whether or not there was any fire underneath all the smoke.
The same is true of John Swinney, who appointed Mr Murrell as CEO during his previous tenure as SNP leader and served as Nicola Sturgeon’s deputy throughout her time in Bute House. Simply asserting throughout that there’s ‘nothing to see here’ speaks to an imperiousness amongst some at the top of a party that has dominated Scottish politics for two decades.
Mr Murrell’s fate will be decided by the judge shortly, but former SNP MP, Natalie McGarry was given a custodial sentence for embezzling considerably less than the £400,000 admitted to by Mr Murrell. Meantime, the SNP will be braced for more donors coming forward looking for redress or refunds.
Not the start to the week that Mr Swinney was hoping for, although it could have been worse had the trial gone ahead, as originally scheduled, prior to the recent Holyrood election where it would inevitably have undermined support for the SNP. As it is, and despite being the largest party in the new parliament, the fact is the SNP lost seats and votes on 7th May.
Throughout the campaign, Mr Swinney made it absolutely clear that, in his view, if the SNP secured a majority of the 129 MSPs it would constitute a ‘mandate’ for a second independence referendum. Despite falling short of that target, with fewer MSPs than in the last parliament, Mr Swinney has been busy trying to move the goalposts over the past couple of weeks, insisting that an increased number of Green MSPs gives him his ‘mandate’. Changing your story as soon as the votes are counted is unlikely to play well with a public, already disillusioned with politics and politicians.
It’s also hard to see how such an approach fits with Mr Swinney’s stated intention to work across the Chamber in this new parliament to get things done. Such cross-party working will be needed if we are to address the crisis in health, care and housing; improve the standing of our education system; and turnaround Scotland’s record of sluggish economic growth and missed environmental targets. Developing those relationships though is made infinitely harder when the First Minister schedules the first parliamentary debate and vote on an independence referendum few expect to happen, but which forces MSPs back into the constitutional trenches.
What a contrast with my visit to Papdale Primary School on Monday, where I met P5/6 pupils to hear about their recent election. The various party manifestos were full of positive ideas for improving the school environment for everyone, while the pupils showed a real energy and enthusiasm for working together to get their proposals adopted. Sadly, all a far cry from events in and around Holyrood this week.