Peter Murrell won't appeal his five-year jail sentence for embezzlement

By JOHN PAUL BRESLIN, WEEKEND NEWS EDITOR - SCOTLAND Published: 19:57, 3 July 2026 | Updated: 19:57, 3 July 2026 Peter Murrell will not appeal against his prison sentence for embezzlement. The former chief executive of the SNP was jailed for five years three months in June after he admitted siphoning off more than £400,000 from his party over 12 years. Murrell - the estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon - falsified accounting records and created fake invoices in an attempt to cover up his brazen theft. The shamed Nat had two weeks to decide whether or not to appeal the sentence he was handed by presiding judge Lord Young at the High Court in Edinburgh on June 23. However, ahead of the deadline on Tuesday his solicitor Matthew McGovern confirmed Murrell had decided not to appeal. Mr McGovern of McGovern Reid in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, said: ‘I can confirm Peter Murrell will not be appealing the sentence imposed by the court.’ Sentencing him last month, Lord Young told Murrell he had committed a ‘calculated crime of dishonesty’ affecting the SNP and its donors. The judge said the offending increased in frequency and amount over time, adding: 'You found yourself unable to stop... and it was only the detection of the crime that brought it to an end.' Murrell used the funds to make hundreds of purchases, including a now infamous £124,550 motorhome, cars, jewellery, luxury homewares and designer stationery between August 2010 and October 2022. Peter Murrell leaving in a prison van from the High Court in Edinburgh. The former SNP chief executive and Nicola Sturgeon's  estranged husband will not appeal his five year prison sentence for embezzlement  Sturgeon's  ex-husband falsified accounting records and created fake invoices in an attempt to cover up his brazen theft But it was his orders for Le Creuset homeware which led to the discovery of the extent of his crimes. As a detective examined the SNP's charge card statements, he was puzzled as to why a party with so little money was buying the high-end goods. He examined the SNP's accounting system, which was supposed to log all purchases made on the party's behalf, but could find no record of the purchases. This set alarm bells ringing and led to the discovery of Murrell's other purchases. A nine-page account of Murrell's extensive spending was read out by prosecutor Alan Cameron KC during Murrell’s court case. The 24ft motorhome had just four miles on the clock when it was seized by police, the court heard. Murrell spent nearly £43,000 on goods from Amazon, with almost all of them delivered to the home he shared with his former wife on the outskirts of Glasgow. A £3,500 silver wine coaster was among items listed as 'leadership expenses'. Mr Cameron said the motorhome was described as a 'van' when the invoice was filed. Murrell's role enabled him to make direct transfers of cash from the SNP's main bank account, which held funds from 'membership fees and donations paid by party members and other donors and legacies', the court was previously told. Murrell also used multiple party 'charge cards' and made a number of false expense claims. He tried to dodge suspicion by giving his purchases 'misleading descriptions and/or accounting codes' in the SNP's finance system, to which he had direct access. His offending came to light after police began receiving complaints about potential mismanagement of the SNP's finances in March 2021. This led to an investigation in which police found evidence of Murrell's crimes. John Scullion KC, defending, had told the court that since Murrell's guilty plea 'for many months, he has lived in almost total isolation'. He said Murrell accepted blame and he had been 'ostracised' by his former colleagues. Mr Scullion said he had become a 'figure of public ridicule' as a result of his actions and he recognised the harm he had caused. He added: 'The accused is now an individual overwhelmed by feelings of embarrassment and shame.' The case has led to intense scrutiny for Ms Sturgeon, who has denied knowing of his crimes, saying she was 'deceived, misled and betrayed'. The former SNP leader said she had been 'completely exonerated' after a 'two-year-long, very forensic police investigation' which saw police search the home she and Murrell had shared. Meanwhile, the SNP has rejected calls for a Holyrood committee to launch an inquiry into the fallout from Murrell’s case. The party’s opposition to a probe comes despite Westminster's Scottish Affairs Committee (SAC) asking Holyrood committees to consider launching an inquiry and indicating it was prepared for 'joint working' on the issue. 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. 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