Now SNP could face a tax probe into whether it reclaimed VAT on bogus purchases made by Peter Murrell

By TOM GORDON, SCOTTISH DAILY MAIL DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 20:05, 4 June 2026 | Updated: 20:05, 4 June 2026 The SNP could face a tax probe into whether it reclaimed VAT on bogus purchases made by Peter Murrell. On Thursday, John Swinney revealed his party had ‘already opened up discussions’ with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Murrell’s admission that he embezzled £400,000 from the party with the help of fake records ‘does have potential implications in relation to the payment of taxation’, Mr Swinney told MSPs. But he angrily rejected calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the SNP’s inadequate financial controls and culture of shutting down valid concerns. He said he didn’t know how much VAT the SNP might owe but was ‘very confident’ it would have enough to cover any bill. Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said Mr Swinney’s leadership was ‘unravelling’ because of his ‘central role’ in appointing, defending and ‘enabling’ Murrell. He said: ‘With every passing day, this astonishing SNP scandal grows bigger. ‘John Swinney’s extraordinary admission that his childhood pal’s crime spree has resulted in engagement with HMRC adds to the many reasons why a full independent inquiry is necessary.’ John Swinney revealed his party had ‘already opened up discussions’ with HM Revenue & Customs Murrell pleaded guilty last week to stealing £400,310 from SNP funds between 2010 and 2022, when he was the party’s chief executive and married to Nicola sturgeon. For most of the period, Ms Sturgeon was party leader and First Minister. Among the items he bought were a £124,550 motorhome which was falsely recorded as a ‘van’ and added to the party’s ‘fixed asset register’, but which only Murrell briefly used. He also bought a robotic lawnmower and had it installed in the house he shared with Ms Sturgeon at a cost of £3,070 - it was misdescribed as ‘legal fees’ in SNP files. While a silicone egg poacher bought using £23.98 of SNP funds was recorded in accounting software under ‘computer hardware purchases’ as ‘ethernet cabling’. At First Minister’s Questions, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar cited the three items and said they may have resulted in the SNP ‘illegally’ reclaiming VAT from HMRC. He said: ‘Political parties, like businesses, are able to claim back VAT on purchases relating to operating costs. That means that fraudulent purchases recorded by the SNP using phoney receipts may have been included in any reclaimed VAT.’ He said Labour had written to the tax authorities asking for a ‘full investigation into the potential defrauding of the public purse’ and urged Mr Swinney to launch his own audit. The First Minister said he had an ‘update’ and told Holyrood: ‘Peter Murrell’s admission of guilt about the embezzlement of Scottish National Party funds have potential implications in relation to the payment of taxation. ‘That is why the Scottish National Party has already opened up discussions with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs on exactly that point. ‘In making sure that we deliver the highest standards of financial governance. ‘We are proactively taking those forward, at our own request, with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.’ Mr Sarwar said ‘the acceptance that there was a possible defrauding of public money’ put the case for a parliamentary inquiry ‘beyond doubt’. He said: ‘Will John Swinney now finally back that inquiry, or will it require further arrests for the public to get the truth?’ A furious FM said: ‘I do not support the establishment of a parliamentary inquiry, because we have had a [police] investigation and it convicted somebody for embezzling from my party’s funds.’ Mr Swinney revealed that on Wednesday the SNP’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) agreed unanimously to instruct lawyers ‘to begin court action to recover the money that has been stolen from us’. The BBC reported he issued a letter to party members explaining the SNP would apply for compensation under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover all £400,310. The party would also begin civil action against Murrell in case it failed to recoup the funds though the criminal courts. The Scottish Sun reported Murrell’s frozen assets include an £88,632 stake in the marital home and £613,496.04 in two pension pots. A spokesman for the HMRC said: ‘We cannot comment on individuals due to taxpayer confidentiality law.’ Former SNP treasurer Douglas Chapman, who quit in 2021 after being denied access to the party’s books by Murrell and his allies, on Thursday attacked the leadership at the time. Writing on X, he said people ‘who wanted to save the party’ through greater transparency were ‘vilified, diminished, ignored and had their careers damaged irreparably by their own party leaders and senior staff at SNP HQ’. He said former NEC chair Kirsten Oswald, now Scotland’s victims minister, Ms Sturgeon and Mr Swinney were ‘all culpable in my book’. Mr Swinney has been reported to police for alleged fraud. Peter Murrell pleaded guilty last week to stealing £400,310 from SNP funds between 2010 and 2022 Independence activist Sean Clerkin visited a police station in Glasgow and lodged a fraud complaint. It came after Mr Swinney admitted hundreds of thousands of pounds donated to the party and ‘ringfenced’ for a second independence referendum had been spent on party activities. Police Scotland said its economic crime unit would assess the claim if new information was received. Mr Clerkin made a similar complaint in 2021, which led to the police investigation that uncovered Murrell’s crimes. Mr Swinney refused to apologise for how the £660,000 was used but said ‘anyone’ who had requested their money back had been given it. ‘I think when people give money to the Scottish National Party, they would expect it to be used to win Scottish independence,’ he said. Police Scotland said: ‘The individual has been informed that the information provided had already been investigated as part of our enquiries and no further action will be taken at this time, however should any new information be received this will be assessed.’ No comments have so far been submitted. 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