TAXPAYER TO PAY MURRELL'S LEGAL FEES

Taxpayer to pay legal fees of former SNP CEO Peter Murrell in big SNP embezzlement trial 

Taxpayers are set to cover the legal costs of former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, charged with embezzlement, raising eyebrows over the SNP’s murky financial dealings. Solicitors for Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband secured legal aid approval, despite lingering questions about the party’s handling of funds, including a suspicious £300,000 taxpayer grant to the Edinburgh International Book Festival after Sturgeon’s ally, Liz Lloyd, joined its board as a director.

Former SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon plugs her new book at the Edinburgh International Book Festival

Murrell, 60, led the SNP for over two decades until stepping down in 2023. He was arrested that year under Operation Branchform, a police probe into the SNP’s finances, initially released without charge. In April 2024, he was charged with embezzling party funds and appeared in court in March 2025. The Scottish Legal Aid Board confirmed his solicitors’ application for solemn legal aid was approved on 30 April, with no payments issued yet.

A Scottish Legal Aid Board spokesperson stated: “When assessing an applicant’s eligibility for legal aid we look at their financial position at the time of their application to ensure they meet tests set by legal aid legislation. This includes information they give us about their salary, the amount of money they have in the bank and any investments, which might be available to fund their own defence privately. Peter Murrell’s application met the tests we have to apply when deciding whether to grant legal aid.”

Murrell’s final SNP salary remains undisclosed, though his successor, Murray Foote, started on £95,000 in 2023. Foote resigned last year, replaced by Carol Beattie. At a private hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Murrell made no plea or declaration and was bailed, with no future hearing dates set, according to the Crown Office.

The SNP’s financial controversies don’t end there. Operation Branchform, launched in 2021, investigated whether £666,953 raised for a second independence referendum was misspent, with a £110,000 motorhome seized from Murrell’s mother’s home and a £95,000 Jaguar I-Pace linked to Murrell also under scrutiny. Posts on X have questioned Murrell’s eligibility for legal aid, citing his high earnings and a £107,000 loan to the SNP, still partly unpaid, fuelling suspicions of financial impropriety within the party.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie remarked: “Taxpayers will be scratching their heads at why they should have to foot the bill for Peter Murrell - a man who has been charged with embezzlement. It is also particularly galling that Peter Murrell will be receiving legal aid after the SNP government has repeatedly ignored warnings about the financial pressures raised by lawyers.”

Scottish Tory MSP Liam Kerr added: “It will stick in the throats of hard-pressed Scots that they’re picking up the tab for this disgraced former SNP Chief Executive, especially at a time when his party have squeezed the legal aid budget.”

Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell outside Edinburgh Sheriff Court

Murrell and Sturgeon, married in 2010 and once Scotland’s foremost political power couple, announced their separation earlier this year. Sturgeon posted on Instagram: “With a heavy heart I am confirming that Peter and I have decided to end our marriage. To all intents and purposes we have been separated for some time now and feel it is time to bring others up to speed with where we are. It goes without saying that we still care deeply for each other, and always will. We will be making no further comment.” Sturgeon, arrested in 2023 under Operation Branchform, was cleared of wrongdoing.