SNP urged to use donations surge since Peter Murrell embezzlement plea to 'make amends' and repay members
The SNP has reportedly received a “significant” uptick in donations from members and supporters since Murrell admitted embezzling party funds.
The “several thousands” of pounds of donations reportedly received by the SNP since Peter Murrell admitted embezzling more than £400,000 of party funds should be paid to members, Scottish Labour has argued.
Since Murrell’s guilty plea last week to embezzling donations between 2010 and 2022, the SNP has been under pressure to repay members who handed over their cash in good faith to the party.
Murrell, the estranged husband of former SNP first minister Nicola Sturgeon, spent the donations on a flurry of items from extravagant salt and pepper grinders to video games to everyday household items, as well as to fund the purchase of two cars and a now-infamous motorhome.
Reports suggested that since Murrell admitting the embezzlement on Monday last week, which SNP leader John Swinney branded a “tough day” for the party, members have stepped forward with a spike in donations.
A party insider told the Telegraph that the SNP has received “several thousand” pounds in donations from supporters since Murrell’s admission of guilt, which was labelled a “significant” uptick from what the SNP would normally receive in a week.
The party’s head of digital, Ross Colquhoun, posted on social media that “donations also increased last week to the SNP”.
Now Scottish Labour has called on the SNP to use the new funds to pay back all those who were defrauded by Murrell.
Scottish Labour deputy leader, Jackie Baillie, said: “Scotland has been shocked by the scale of the criminality that Peter Murrell indulged in as CEO of the SNP.
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“Murrell funded a lavish lifestyle using the donations of ordinary SNP members, while senior SNP figures like John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon turned a blind eye to the financial chaos engulfing their party.
“For SNP figures to now crow about new funds while revelations of Murrell's criminality continue and questions persist about SNP cover-up culture is galling.”
She added: “If this new boost in funds is real then the SNP should do the right thing and use it to make amends for past failures.
“It’s time that those SNP members who thought they were funding a referendum but were actually paying for luxury cars, computer games and salt and pepper shakers get their money back from the SNP.”
Last week, Mr Swinney suggested the members who had their donations embezzled by Murrell will not get their money back.
Asked about a potential refund for members at a press conference in Glasgow, he said: “We don't have that money, it's been stolen from us.”
During her interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, Ms Sturgeon suggested there could be “a legal process to recover the money from Peter that he embezzled from the SNP”.
She added: “I am not guilty of that embezzlement, so nothing that belongs to me should be part of that, rightly, it should not be part of that.”
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, Mr Swinney highlighted that “the advocate depute made a verbal motion for confiscation in relation to section 92 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002”, adding that “the decision on the matter will ultimately be for the court to make”.
Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, expressed scepticism about the need for an inquiry into the Murrell case.
“I know everyone is very excited about inquiries,” he told The Scotsman during a visit to Aberdeen.
“How long will it take? How much will it cost? Who will it help?”
He added: “I’m not into wasting money anywhere, that’s my bottom line. If someone could do something really quickly, cost effectively, maybe.
“But I just think, we've actually got to focus on what really helps residents and gets people working again.”
An SNP spokesperson said: “The SNP has been the victim of embezzlement of £400,000 of our members money by our former Chief Executive over a period of twelve years from 2010 to 2022.
“As Police Scotland have stated, Peter Murrell went to great lengths to cover his tracks and his actions are an utter betrayal of the Scottish National Party and the thousands of individuals who believe in the cause of independence.
“We are only a matter of days from Peter Murrell’s guilty plea being entered and we have yet to receive the full details of the money and goods embezzled from the party. It will therefore be some time before the we have the complete picture Peter Murrell’s crimes and its implications on the SNP.”