Peter Murrell bought 108 loo rolls using money stolen from SNP as panic-buy alert loomed at start of Covid pandemic

Published: 21:47, 31 May 2026 | Updated: 21:51, 31 May 2026 Peter Murrell snapped up more than 100 toilet rolls using money he had stolen from the SNP - just as Nicola Sturgeon prepared to urge the Scottish public not to panic-buy at the start of the Covid pandemic. Court documents from his embezzlement trial reveal that on March 7, 2020, with lockdown looming as infection cases soared and supermarkets battled chronic shortages of essential items, the then First Minister's husband spent £55.98 on 108 luxury Andrex toilet rolls. Just 48 hours later, Ms Sturgeon appeared at a press conference instructing the public to 'apply common sense' by not bulk-buying in shops and to 'behave as rationally as possible'. Despite the attempts to crackdown on stockpiling, in the following weeks Murrell also bought 144 bottles of Evian still mineral water and four packs of liquid laundry detergent. The panic purchases have sparked outrage among politicians, who suggest that Murrell hoarded the essentials in the knowledge that his wife's imminent lockdown order could possibly prompt supermarkets to introduce purchasing limits. Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: 'Peter Murrell's loo-roll splurge with stolen cash suggests that he had advance notice of Nicola Sturgeon's warning against panic buying, but it's also typical of the SNP's "do as I say, not as I do" double standards.' Peter Murrell snapped up more than 100 toilet rolls using money he had stolen from the SNP 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. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.