Peter Murrell

Peter Murrell, the former chief executive of the Scottish National Party (SNP), is a convicted criminal who served as the party's chief executive from 2001 until his resignation in March 2023. On May 25, 2026, Murrell pleaded guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh to embezzling £400,310.65 from the SNP between August 2010 and October 2022. He was subsequently sentenced to five years and three months in prison. The embezzlement was uncovered during Operation Branchform, a Police Scotland investigation launched in 2021. Murrell admitted to using party funds, credit cards, and bank transfers to illicitly purchase over 1,000 personal items, including a £124,550 motorhome, two cars, luxury watches, electronics, and kitchenware. He attempted to conceal the crimes by using fake invoices and miscoding expenses in the party's accounting software. Murrell resigned as chief executive in March 2023 following a controversy regarding misleading party membership figures. While Nicola Sturgeon and former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie were also arrested as part of the financial investigation, both were released without charge and ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing by March 2025. Murrell and Sturgeon separated in January 2025.