The ex-SNP chief executive , aged 61, returned to court today after pleading guilty last week at the High Court in Edinburgh to embezzling more than £400,000 from his employers, spending the money on a string of luxury goods including cars, cosmetics, jewellery, gardening equipment and fountain pens.
Images released by the Crown Office show what has become one of his most infamous purchases, a motorhome bought with £124,550 of SNP cash.
The motorhome was bought in 2020 and sat outside Murrell’s mother’s home in Fife. (Image: PA)
We previously reported that Swinney told journalists at the Scottish Parliament: “For me, obviously, I have come into office and I have strengthened the governance of the Scottish National Party so that members of the party are able to freely and openly express their views.
“I have put in place the strongest level of financial control and financial assurance that I think is required, and that there is openness and transparency about the consideration of all financial items that are considered by the party and the scrutiny that members of the national executive committee are entitled to expect to be able to exercise.”
The Press Association reported that Murrell created fake invoices and used “misleading” accounting in a bid to cover his tracks as he embezzled £400,310.65 from his party, a court has heard.
Alan Cameron KC told the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday that Murrell’s role enabled him to make direct transfers of cash from the party’s main bank account.
He also told the court one of the vehicles included a Volkswagen Golf car, which was later sold and the proceeds used towards buying a Jaguar I-Pace worth more than £81,000.
The advocate depute said a false invoice was created for this, submitting the claim as “stage payment”.
Cameron said: “He claimed that the payment was for staging for SNP events and that it had related to a planned national tour of key communicators from the party which had had to be postponed for various reasons, including the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The court was also told about a robotic lawnmower which was purchased by Murrell for £3,070. This was misdescribed as “legal fees” in the SNP’s accounting software.
A silver wine coaster worth £3,500 was described as “leadership expenses”.
Murrell’s former wide, Nicola Sturgeon denies any knowledge of his crimes and says she was “deceived, misled and betrayed.”
