Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell was led from the High Court in Edinburgh in handcuffs on Tuesday after prosecutors revealed in detail how he embezzled more than £400,000 from party funds over a 12 year period.
Murrell, 61, admitted embezzling £400,310.65 from the Scottish National Party between 2010 and 2022. During a hearing before Lord Young, the Crown outlined how party money was spent on personal purchases including luxury vehicles, watches, household goods and a £124,550 motorhome.
The court heard Murrell used SNP charge cards, including cards issued to other members of staff, as well as direct transfers from party bank accounts under his control.
Prosecutors said the former chief executive concealed spending through false invoices, bogus expense claims and misleading entries in the party’s accounting records.
Among the most notable purchases was a motorhome costing £124,550, bought in October 2020 using SNP funds. The vehicle was delivered to an industrial estate before being driven to Murrell’s mother’s home in Dunfermline, where it remained until it was seized by police in April 2023 as part of Operation Branchform.
The court heard the motorhome had travelled just four miles when officers recovered it.
Details disclosed during the hearing also showed Murrell spent £9,350 of party money on two watches. The purchases were recorded in SNP accounting software as “event merchandise”.
Prosecutors said he created false invoices for an “Apple processor” and “studio light fittings” worth more than £14,000. Police later discovered some of the money had been spent on garden equipment found during searches of his property.
The court was told Murrell made 383 Amazon purchases totalling £42,660.74 which were not for party purposes. Deliveries were sent to his home address, SNP headquarters and addresses connected to family members.
A further 238 purchases were made from other retailers using SNP charge cards.
The hearing also heard how party funds were used to finance personal vehicles. Murrell spent £16,498 of SNP money paying off the balance of a Volkswagen Golf before using fraudulent expense claims to fund a £12,000 deposit on a Jaguar I-PACE costing more than £81,000. False invoices were then used to cover the remaining payments on the vehicle.
Among the smaller purchases highlighted by prosecutors was a £30 parking ticket incurred outside Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy and paid using an SNP card.
Murrell served as the SNP’s chief executive for more than two decades and was one of the most influential figures within the party during its rise to power in Scotland.
The court heard Murrell first instructed his legal team to enter discussions regarding a guilty plea in March this year after being presented with a dossier of evidence gathered by investigators.
Following the hearing, Murrell was taken from court in a prison van. He remains in custody and will return to the High Court in Edinburgh on 23 June for sentencing.
The case forms part of Operation Branchform, the long running Police Scotland investigation into SNP finances that began in 2021.
