Ballpoint of order! Where DID you get that very pricey pen, Nicola?

By GRAHAM GRANT, SCOTTISH HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR Published: 20:10, 26 May 2026 | Updated: 20:10, 26 May 2026 Nicola Sturgeon used designer pens in the Holyrood debating chamber - which she said were from an ‘unnamed relative’. Her estranged husband Peter Murrell admitted spending nearly £24,000 of stolen cash at Montblanc, which sells items such as luxury pens, watches, and headphones. Back in 2022, the then First Minister was pictured with Montblanc pens at the Scottish parliament, prompting questions from Tory leader Russell Findlay. It came at a time when the SNP was criticised for breaking a pledge on ‘free’ laptops for schoolchildren, sparking a political row. On Tuesday, Mr Findlay told the Mail: ‘Four years ago, a constituent alerted me to Nicola Sturgeon’s expensive Montblanc pens because of his anger at the SNP’s broken promise of free laptops for children. ‘At the time, Sturgeon’s spokesman admitted they were gifts from an unnamed relative. ‘Given the revelation that Sturgeon’s thieving husband spent almost £24,000 of stolen cash at Montblanc, urgent clarity is now required. ‘It has now been confirmed that two of the pens Sturgeon showed off in parliament were the same models bought by her husband. Nicola Sturgeon was spotted using an expensive pen in Holyrood while First Minister ‘Sturgeon has a duty to do the right thing and come clean. Were her Montblancs bought with cash stolen from SNP members? ‘And if they were, the authorities should use proceeds of crime laws to seize the pens and every other illicit purchase.’ Ms Sturgeon was criticised for being ‘out of touch’ in 2022 after she was spotted with Montblanc pens at Holyrood and events including the Cop26 climate summit, in 2021. A Meisterstruck Unicef Doué Classique Rollerball Pastel Blue pen costing £635 is noted on the indictment against Murrell, and a Meisterstruck Around the World in 80 Days Classique Rollerball pen costing £515. Both appear to be the pens, or similar to the pens, used by Ms Sturgeon in parliament. In 2022, angry parents accused the First Minister of being ‘completely disconnected’ from the reality of hard-working Scots families who faced a of living crisis. One, who contacted Mr Findlay, said: ‘Sturgeon waves Montblancs around while children who she told would get a free computer are left empty-handed. ‘I saw her on telly holding this pen and thought it looked expensive and got talking to a pal who said it was a Montblanc costing over £500. A Montblanc Meisterstück Around the World in 80 Days LeGrand Rollerball ‘It then turned out she has another similar one. ‘It stuck in my craw because my own kids believed the SNP election promise and don’t understand why they’ve not received anything. ‘She seems completely disconnected from families like mine. ‘A free laptop might mean nothing to a rich politician like her, but it’s a big deal for us.’ The SNP promised all 705,000 Scottish pupils would receive a free digital device such as a laptop or iPad but it later emerged only a fraction of pupils had received one. The German luxury goods firm markets its pens as ‘writing instruments’. It says of its products: ‘Fine living is a prerogative, and exquisite products make an extraordinary life even more exceptional. ‘Your story is alive and dynamic; the assets that accompany you along your path must add vitality and effervescence.’ Nicola Sturgeon sporting a gold pendant back in 2019 Meanwhile, Murrell reportedly told a jewellery shop owner: ‘I’m the man with the money’, when he visited in 2019. He is understood to have bought Ms Sturgeon a gold pendant inspired by the Northern Lights when the couple visited Shetland Jewellery in July that year. The £425 necklace is one of the items Murrell admitted buying with funds he embezzled from the SNP between August 2010 and October 2022. Ms Sturgeon is understood to have worn the necklace from the shop in some of her public appearances. Kenneth Rae, who ran Shetland Jewellery until his retirement, said he was working the day Murrell and Ms Sturgeon came into the shop on July 28, 2019. He told BBC Scotland: ‘They came in and then Peter Murrell said, while his wife was in the workshop area: “I’m the man with the money. I need to buy something”. ‘We were happy he wanted to buy something.’ He added: ‘Nicola did wear that pendant quite often and you can see it on television and we’re very popular of the fact that she was wearing a bit of Shetland Jewellery.’ Mr Rae said that, a few years later, two police officers came up from Glasgow to interview people in the workshop as part of their investigation. Asked about the latest revelations on the luxury pens and pendant, Ms Sturgeon’s spokesman reiterated her statement on Monday, when she said she ‘had no knowledge or suspicion whatsoever that personal items had been purchased using SNP funds’. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. 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