Peter Murrell, the husband of the former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, has been charged in connection with embezzlement after being arrested for a second time by police investigating allegations regarding the funding and finances of the Scottish National party.
Murrell, the former chief executive of the SNP, was first arrested and interviewed as a suspect by Police Scotland detectives in April 2023 at the home he shared with Sturgeon in Glasgow, but was released later that day pending further investigation.
Police Scotland revealed earlier on Thursday that Murrell had been rearrested earlier that morning and questioned. In a brief statement on Thursday the force said he “had been charged in connection with the embezzlement of funds from the Scottish National party”.
The force added that Murrell had been released from custody and a report would be sent to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service “in due course”.
Murrell is reported to have resigned his membership of the SNP.
Police Scotland 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.
“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. For this reason, Police Scotland has turned off the comments function on this post.”
An SNP spokesperson said: “While this development will come as a shock, the police investigation remains ongoing and it would, therefore, be inappropriate to make any comment.”
After Murrell’s initial arrest in 2023, the police erected tents at the front of their detached house, searching the garden and removing evidence from the property.
In a series of linked operations, detectives also searched the party’s headquarters in Edinburgh and confiscated a luxury motorhome parked in the driveway of Murrell’s 92-year-old mother’s home in Dunfermline.
They later arrested the party’s then treasurer, the SNP MSP Colin Beattie, at his home in Midlothian, interviewing him under caution before releasing him without charge on the same day.
Two months later, on 11 June, Sturgeon was arrested and interviewed by arrangement with police, before also being released without charge.
She has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and says the police investigation into the SNP, known as Operation Branchform, had nothing to do with her decision to quit as Scotland’s longest-serving first minister in March 2023.
Operation Branchform was launched by Police Scotland in July 2021 after a series of complaints about the SNP’s finances, which focused on the status of £667,000 in donations for a pro-independence fighting fund.
The party’s accounts did not clearly show where that money was held, prompting allegations it had been used for the SNP’s day-to-day spending. The party said the money had been “earmarked” through its internal accounting processes.
The party was rocked by a series of disputes about the transparency of financial decision-making, with three members of its finance and audit committee resigning in March 2021 after complaining they were not allowed to see the party’s accounts.
Two months later the MP Douglas Chapman resigned as its treasurer, followed by the resignation of fellow MP Joanna Cherry from her position on the national executive committee.
With the party’s finances stretched, in June 2021 Murrell had loaned the party £107,000 “to assist with cashflow” with half of it repaid to him by October 2021. News of the loan did not emerge until December 2022.
Jackie Baillie, the deputy leader of Scottish Labour, 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.”
The Scottish Conservatives’ chair, 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.
A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said: “Senior professional prosecutors from COPFS and an Advocate Depute are working with police on this ongoing investigation.
“It is standard practice that any case regarding politicians is dealt with by prosecutors without the involvement of the Lord Advocate or solicitor general. All Scotland’s prosecutors act independently of political interference.
“As is routine, to protect the integrity of ongoing investigations, we do not comment in detail on their conduct.”