John Swinney under growing pressure to explain how the SNP leadership missed Peter Murrell's embezzlement spree

By TOM GORDON, SCOTTISH DAILY MAIL DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 20:18, 26 May 2026 | Updated: 20:24, 26 May 2026 John Swinney is under growing pressure to explain how the SNP leadership missed Peter Murrell’s crime spree. Amid claims the party hierarchy shut down concerns about SNP funds before a police probe in 2021, the First Minister said he was ‘not conscious’ of having done so. Mr Swinney also tried to draw a line under the party’s initial response to the scandal, insisting: ‘These issues are in the past.' The Scottish Conservatives said the ‘delusional’ remarks would infuriate SNP members. The First Minister was speaking after Keir Starmer said those at the top of the SNP have ‘questions that need to be answered’. Murrell, the former SNP chief executive, was jailed on Monday after admitting embezzling more than £400,000 of SNP funds. The money was siphoned off between 2010 and 2022, when he was married to Ms Sturgeon, with eight of the 12 years overlapping with her leadership of the SNP. Ms Sturgeon vehemently denies any knowledge or suspicion about the wrongdoing at the time. John Swinney, at Holyrood on Tuesday, is coming under increasing pressure Senior party sources claim having a married couple in charge was basic bad management, with members cowed into silence and toeing the line. Murrell's crimes only came to light after a complaint to the police about another financial matter. Sir Keir said: ‘I think anybody looking at what’s happening up in Scotland will be baffled that those at the top of the SNP say they didn’t know anything about what was going on, so clearly there are questions that need to be answered.’ Labour cabinet office minister Anna Turley also told GB News the ‘shocking’ crime left the SNP and Ms Sturgeon with ‘serious questions to answer’. She said: ‘It's absolutely shocking. It brings all of politics into disrepute.’ Asked about Sir Keir’s appeal for transparency, Mr Swinney said: ‘I don’t really think I’ll be listening much to what Keir Starmer says to me about anything. ‘The processes that we had in place had been bypassed, and that is why there has been criminal conduct here. ‘That’s been fully addressed by the police investigation. ‘What the SNP has done since then is take forward strengthened internal governance measures.’ Former SNP MP Joanna Cherry, KC, claimed she and other members of the SNP’s ruling body were shut down when they tried to raise concerns about the possible misuse of a ringfenced £600,000 independence fund in 2021. Asked why the National Executive Committee didn’t heed the ‘red flags’ raised by senior members, Mr Swinney said: ‘These issues are in the past. The issues that I’ve taken forward mean that we have got good and effective governance.’ Asked if he had been one of those shutting down concerns five years ago, Mr Swinney said: ‘I’m not conscious of doing anything to that extent.’ Asked if Ms Sturgeon saying ‘no comment’ in her police interview matched her claim of ‘fully cooperating’, Mr Swinney said: ‘I've got no comment to offer about police investigations.’ Scottish Tory deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: ‘Delusional John Swinney is desperately trying to sweep this scandal under the carpet. ‘Those SNP members whose donations were stolen by Peter Murrell will be furious to hear Swinney say this is all in the past. ‘They will want to know why the safeguards were not in place to prevent the man Swinney appointed as chief executive pilfering their money for his private spending spree. ‘The First Minister is also attempting to rewrite history. ‘He appeared on national TV in May 2021, after the party’s treasurer had resigned, denying that there was a problem with the SNP’s finances.’ Former SNP Treasurer Colin Beattie, who like Ms Sturgeon was arrested by Operation Branchform detectives in 2023 but not charged, told the media at Holyrood: ‘Peter's guilty plea was an admission of a huge betrayal of the trust of the SNP, and he will have to bear that on his conscience and face the punishment handed down to him next month.’ Asked if he should have spotted the fraud, the Midlothian North and Musselburgh MSP said: ‘As the Police Scotland statement said, this was a very complex operation, and Peter went to extreme criminal lengths to cover his tracks.’ Asked if he would apologise, he walked swiftly away without answering. 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