LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) – Former Scottish National Party chief executive Peter Murrell was jailed for just over five years on Tuesday after admitting embezzling more than £400,000 ($540,000) of party funds to buy items such as cars, a motorhome and luxury goods.
Murrell is the former husband of ex-SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, who suddenly resigned in 2023, shortly before she was arrested as part of the probe into the party’s finances. She was cleared of wrongdoing in March last year.
He had pleaded guilty last month to the offence and was jailed for five years and three months at Edinburgh High Court.
The judge, Andrew Young, said the sentence needed to serve as a deterrent to others.
The police investigation which led to the arrest of Sturgeon, the SNP’s longest-serving leader, along with the conviction of her former husband prompted embarrassing questions for the pro-independence party which has dominated Scottish politics for nearly two decades.
After Murrell’s plea, Sturgeon reiterated her innocence and said that she had “no knowledge or suspicion whatsoever that he was using SNP funds for personal purposes”.
Murrell had admitted embezzling £400,310.65 from the SNP between 2010 and 2023, using the money to buy several vehicles, as well as items from luxury brands such as Estee Lauder and Harrods.
(Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by William James)
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