Scotland: Sturgeon's ex-husband Peter Murrell jailed for 5 years and 3 months
Key takeaways
- Peter Murrell pleaded guilty to embezzling funds in his role as chief executive of the Scottish National Party.
- Judge Andrew Young sentenced him to five years and three months in prison on Tuesday.
- "Your actions involved a significant breach of trust to the organization which you led, and to the individual members and donors," Young told Murrell in court.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Peter Murrell pleaded guilty to embezzling funds in his role as chief executive of the Scottish National Party. He held the SNP's purse strings while his then-wife, Nicola Sturgeon, was Scottish First Minister.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Fvc8Peter Murrell had pleaded guilty and expressed contrition in court (FILE: May 25, 2026)Image: Jane Barlow/PA/dpa/picture alliance Advertisement Former Scottish National Party (SNP) chief executive Peter Murrell was jailed for just over five years on Tuesday after admitting to embezzling just over 400,000 pounds (roughly €465,000 or $530,000 at current exchange rates) of party funds to buy items including a motorhome, cars and luxury household goods.
Murrell, 61, is the now-estranged husband of former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, who suddenly resigned as Scotland's First Minister in 2023, a few months before she was arrested as part of the probe into the party's finances. She was cleared of wrongdoing in March last year.