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FUNDING RAP
Nicola Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell charged with ’embezzlement’ of SNP funds
SNP chiefs also gave an update on Murrell's party membership
NICOLA Sturgeon's husband Peter Murrell has been charged in connection with alleged embezzlement of funds from SNP finances.
Cops confirmed the 59-year-old was taken into custody this morning and was questioned by detectives as part of the Operation Branchform investigation.
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Officers later confirmed Mr Murrell, the party's former chief executive, has been charged amid the probe after he'd been quizzed for more than nine hours.
He was snapped as he left Falkirk Police in what's thought to be a cop car.
SNP bosses confirmed Mr Murrell has quit the party.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "A 59-year-old man has today, Thursday, 18 April, 2024, been charged in connection with the embezzlement of funds from the Scottish National Party.
"The man, who was arrested at 9.13am today and had previously been arrested as a suspect on 5 April, 2023, was charged at 6.35pm after further questioning by Police Scotland detectives investigating the funding and finances of the party.
"A report will be sent to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in due course.
"The man is no longer in police custody. As this investigation is ongoing we are unable to comment further.
"The matter is active for the purposes of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 and the public are therefore advised to exercise caution if discussing it on social media."
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Operation Branchform was launched in July 2021 after allegations were made to officers earlier that year about the fate of £600,000 of donations made to the party.
The long-running inquiry saw Nicola Sturgeon and husband Peter Murrell arrested nearly two years later in 2023, along with SNP MSP and former long-time party treasurer Colin Beattie.
Nicola Sturgeon asked during her resignation speech about police investitagtion in SNP finances
The police probe was launched into what happened to cash raised between 2017 and 2019 for an indy referendum campaign.
Mr Murrell was arrested and released pending further inquiries on April 5 last year after being quizzed by officers.
Police carried out dramatic raids on Ms Sturgeon and ex-SNP chief exec Mr Murrell’s Glasgow home, as well as SNP HQ in Edinburgh. - the week after Ms Sturgeon was replaced by Humza Yousaf as First Minister.
Officers were seen carrying out boxes of evidence during the search of Ms Sturgeon and Mr Murrell's home, where a forensics tent was pitched in front of their house.
They seized various items including a £110,000 Niesmann+Bischoff campervan from Mr Murrell's mother's house in Dunfermline.
On April 18 last year, Mr Beattie was then arrested at his home in Eskbank, Dalkeith, and was also later released without charge pending further inquiries.
Operation Branchform timeline
- 2017 - March 13 - IndyRef2 campaign fundraiser launched by SNP on website ref.scot - with £1million target - as Nicola Sturgeon announces she is requesting a second referendum with a letter to then PM Theresa May. The website says: “The success of our campaign will rely on the hard work and good will of tens of thousands of ordinary people across the country.”
- 2017 - June - snap General Election sees the SNP lose 21 of its 56 MPs. SNP later sidelines immediate IndyRef2 bid.The ref.scot crowdfunder is wound down
- 2017 - June 13 - SNP statement to The Herald newspaper says: “The funding that was raised during the period of the ref.scot crowdfunder will only be used for the specific purpose of a referendum campaign. In that regard, the money is earmarked. The money spent in the General Election campaign was taken from our general election appeal.”
- 2020 - October 28 - MSP and SNP Treasurer Colin Beattie - in the post since 2004 - sends an email to SNP members, saying he wanted to “quash rumours spreading on social media about one of our fundraising appeals”.
- 2020 - November 30 - Mr Beattie ousted as Treasurer when he loses SNP internal election, with members backing MP Douglas Chapman to replace him amid a push for greater transparency
- 2021 - March 20 - Three members of the SNP’s finance and audit committee quit.
- 2021 - March 27 - Indy activist Sean Clerkin makes a complaint to Police Scotland about the fate of the IndyRef2 cash raised in the 2017 online crowdfunder.
- 2021 - May 6 - Holyrood election. SNP spend £1,468,343 on the election campaign, according to returns later published
- 2021 - May 29 - Douglas Chapman tweets: ”Despite having a resounding mandate from members to introduce more transparency into the party’s finances, I have not received the support or financial information to carry out the fiduciary duties of National Treasurer. Regretfully I have resigned with immediate effect.”
- 2021 - June 3 - Mr Beattie returns as Treasurer.
- 2021 - June 20 - SNP chief executive Peter Murrell - Nicola Sturgeon’s husband - loans the SNP £107,620 which the SNP later says was to “assist with cashflow”.
- 2021 - July 13 - Police Scotland confirm they have begun a formal investigation into the allegations of financial irregularity. The probe is called Operation Branchform, and the SNP denies any wrongdoing and vows to cooperate.
- 2022 - June 30 - End of year accounts for 2021 show that the SNP had a £751,572 deficit in the calendar year 2021, with income of £4,510,460 and expenditure of £5,262,032
- 2022 - autumn - SNP auditors Johnston Carmichael - who signed off the 2021 accounts - resign.
- 2023 - February 15 - Nicola Sturgeon quits just a fortnight after claiming she has plenty left in the tank. She refuses to comment when asked about the cop probe. Ms Sturgeon is asked by a reporter: “Have you been, or do you expect, to be interviewed by the police who are looking into your party’s finances?” She replies: “I’m not going to discuss an ongoing police investigation. I wouldn’t do that on any issue and I’m not going to do it now.”
- 2023 - February 16 - SNP set out an accelerated five-and-a-half week timetable to for the leadership race, with SNP Business Convene Kirsten Oswald saying it is “not hugely lengthy”
- 2023 - March 27 - Humza Yousaf, who was favoured by the Sturgeon regime, is elected as SNP leader with a final round result of 52/48 percentage split over main rival Kate Forbes.
- 2023 - April 5 - Mr Murrell is arrested in a dramatic raid at he and Ms Sturgeon’s home in Glasgow, quizzed by officers and later released without charge pending further inquiries
- 2023 - April 18 - Mr Beattie is arrested.
- 2023 - April 21 - Mr Murrell is pictured in public for the first time since his arrest
- 2023 - April 22 - SNP support plummets with expert Prof John Curtice claiming the fraud investigation and leadership contest had “taken their toll on SNP support”.
- 2023 - April 26 - Ms Sturgeon returns to the Scottish Parliament and describes events as “very traumatic”.
- 2023 - May 16 - It emerges a warrant for the search of Nicola Sturgeon’s home wasn’t signed off until the SNP leadership race had concluded and Ms Sturgeon had left office as First Minister.
- 2023 - May 17 - Kenny MacAskill calls for a judge-led inquiry into the Crown Office’s handling of the SNP fraud probe.
- 2023 - June 11 - Ms Sturgeon is arrested, later released without charge, and named as a "suspect" by police.
On June 11, Ms Sturgeon was arrested, questioned, and then later released without charge pending further inquiries. She strenuously denied any wrongdoing.
In July, Police Scotland's outgoing Chief Constable Sir Iain suggested Branchform’s scope had been widened and was looking into “potential embezzlement” and “misuse of funds”.
We told in January how an update from the Crown Office revealed at that point no decision had been taken about whether charges should be brought - two-and-a-half years after the investigation began.
Ms Sturgeon has repeatedly denied wrongdoing or that the probe had anything to do with her announcing her resignation in February 2023.
Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said: “The announcement that Peter Murrell has been charged by Police Scotland is an extremely serious development in the investigation into the SNP’s finances.
“As the police probe continues, it is now more important than ever that all SNP staff and politicians, past and present, fully cooperate.
“The investigation, which has been going on for three years, appears to be reaching a conclusion and the SNP must commit to being fully open and transparent in this critical phase.”
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “This is another incredibly concerning development in this long-running investigation.
“It is essential that Police Scotland is able to proceed with this investigation without interference."
Mr Murrell ignored questions from the gathered media outside his home as he returned as he returned around 8.10pm.
A spokesperson for the SNP said: “While this development will come as a shock, the police investigation remains ongoing and it would, therefore, be inappropriate to make any comment."
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And Nats bosses also confirmed Mr Murrell has resigned his SNP membership.
The First Minister’s official spokesman declined to comment.