John Swinney under intense pressure to back an SNP fraud inquiry after admitting party cash controls were not 'adequate'

By TOM GORDON, SCOTTISH DAILY MAIL DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 21:12, 2 June 2026 | Updated: 21:12, 2 June 2026 John Swinney is under intense pressure to back an SNP fraud inquiry after admitting party cash controls were not ‘adequate’ and public money may have been in a plundered bank account. But the First Minister still refused to support a parliamentary investigation into the Peter Murrell scandal despite more damning details emerging in court on Tuesday. Opposition parties called it ‘untenable’ given Murrell’s ‘brazen’ 12-year crime spree. A narration of the facts revealed the ex-SNP chief executive had free rein over the party’s finances and repeatedly falsified paperwork to fool auditors. He pretended he was unable to access the electronic expenses system, and was allowed to submit claims without receipts and invoices instead. The 61-year-old stole £18,408 by making four false expenses over 18 months. Asked how Murrell was allowed to sign off his own expenses, Mr Swinney admitted: ‘There has not been in every respect adequate controls in place. ‘The systems that were in place should not have been able to be abused, but they were.’ John Swinney with Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth at the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday Most of the £400,310 that Murrell embezzled between 2010 to 2022, when he was married to Nicola Sturgeon, came from the party’s main bank account, which he controlled. Prosecutors said money in the account came ‘principally’ - but not exclusively - from ‘membership fees and donations paid by party members and other donors and legacies’. The taxpayer-funded Electoral Commission paid the SNP more than £2.2million in policy development grants during the years Murrell was robbing the party. Asked if public money went through the robbed account, Mr Swinney said: ‘The only public money that would have conceivably gone through that account could be the policy development grant from the Electoral Commission, which is the subject of separate auditing. ‘You only receive the payments from the Electoral Commission if they are satisfied with the contents of those submissions. ‘And there is nothing that has emerged from the police investigation that points to any of those resources [being] utilised.’ Reminded the Commission relied on audits supplied by the SNP and Murrell had misled auditors, Mr Swinney repeated there was a ‘separate audit’ of the grants. At First Minister’s Questions last week, he told MSPs categorically: ‘It is SNP supporters’ money that has been embezzled, and not public money.’ Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay said: ‘These fresh revelations suggest that Peter Murrell did steal money from taxpayers as well as from SNP members - despite John Swinney’s denial to parliament. ‘The narrative also destroys the ludicrous claims being peddled by some that Murrell was some kind of cunning criminal mastermind. ‘It is clear that he was free to brazenly steal hundreds of thousands of pounds from under the noses of his wife Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney. ‘These new details heighten the need for a full and independent inquiry which should be unsparing in seeking answer to so many critical questions, no matter how difficult that will be for Swinney and others.’ Mr Swinney last week rejected a Holyrood inquiry on the grounds the police investigation was enough, prompting MPs to propose a Commons committee holds one instead. SNP and Green MSPs on Holyrood’s business bureau yesterday blocked an emergency debate on the issue. But Scottish Labour is expected to use its time next week to force a vote. Pressed on a parliamentary investigation, Mr Swinney said: ‘I don’t think there’s a case for that, because we have actually had a thorough and comprehensive police investigation that has lasted for many years. The legal processes have taken their course.’ The SNP leader said he felt ‘horror’ at the picture set out in court. ‘It is clear that there has been a colossal breach of trust and a systematic series of criminal actions by Peter Murrell,’ he said, insisting the party’s oversight had been improved since. Asked what he would say to Murrell, an emotional Mr Swinney said: ‘I honestly wouldn’t know where to start. I can’t adequately convey the sense of betrayal I feel. I feel absolutely gutted at the behaviour that has been perpetrated against decent, hard-working members in the party who just simply wanted to do their best for the cause. I’m utterly devastated.’ Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said: ‘We know Peter Murrell lied for years to try and cover up his crimes, including producing false invoices to deceive auditors. ‘Given Murrell presented a number of false invoices, it is clear that SNP paperwork cannot be relied upon as a credible source of financial information. Peter Murrell pictured in the dock at the Edinburgh High Court on Tuesday ‘This goes beyond the money embezzled from SNP supporters - there are serious questions to be answered about whether any public money was embezzled. ‘The SNP’s claims that an inquiry is not needed are completely untenable. The public deserve to know the truth. ‘If they refuse to allow an inquiry to take place, the people of Scotland will have no reason to ever trust the SNP again.’ Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: ‘It is extremely serious that the SNP Chief Executive was routinely producing fraudulent invoices, especially when the party had received considerable sums of public money over the years. ‘This is just one reason why we need a comprehensive inquiry into years of fraud inside the SNP.’ The Electoral Commission said last week it had ‘seen no evidence of misuse’ of grants paid to the party. On Tuesday, a spokesman added: ‘The evidence shows that the SNP spent its policy development grants on eligible costs, mostly SNP staff salaries. ‘If there is evidence of any misuse, the Commission will take appropriate action to safeguard public money.’ No comments have so far been submitted. 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