Senior police accuse prosecutors of treating force like 'servants' following Peter Murrell scandal

By GRAHAM GRANT, SCOTTISH HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR Published: 20:10, 13 August 2026 | Updated: 20:10, 13 August 2026 Prosecutors have been accused of treating police officers like ‘servants’ and interfering in criminal investigations in the wake of the Peter Murrell scandal. The extraordinary claims emerged as the fallout continues from Operation Branchform, the investigation into SNP finances which led to the former party chief executive being jailed for embezzling more than £400,000 from the party he once helped run. Now damning new research by a former Police Scotland superintendent has exposed long-simmering tensions between Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), raising fresh questions about who controls major criminal investigations north of the Border. Scottish Tory justice spokesman Stephen Kerr said: ‘These serious claims will deeply alarm Scots about how those responsible for justice in Scotland are working together. ‘The high-profile Operation Branchform already raised serious questions about transparency and these latest claims make it all the more important for the SNP to be fully upfront about what they knew and when during the investigation. ‘Scots deserve a justice system that they can have confidence in, not one defined by institutional infighting.’ Senior officers believe that Crown Office involvement in cases has become 'intrusive' in high-profile inquiries Writing in Policing Insight, former superintendent Martin Gallagher argued the public row over the handling of the investigation has shone a spotlight on strained relations between officers and prosecutors. Retired senior officers told him they viewed the relationship not as a partnership but as a ‘master and servant’ arrangement in which police were expected to carry out instructions from Crown lawyers. The findings come amid criticism of the decision not to prosecute former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Mr Murrell’s estranged wife, after she was investigated as part of the inquiry, but not charged. Mr Gallagher said Scotland’s traditional criminal justice model was clear-cut – police investigated allegations of wrongdoing and reported their findings. Prosecutors then decided whether criminal proceedings should follow. But he claims this has increasingly blurred over the past two decades, with prosecutors becoming more involved in the direction and supervision of investigations through so-called ‘advice and guidance’ reports. According to the research, several recently retired senior officers with more than 300 years of combined experience said they believed Crown Office involvement had become increasingly intrusive, particularly in sensitive and high-profile inquiries. One former officer described the relationship as ‘a very subordinate, domineering and one-sided’. Others complained that prosecutors could be dismissive of police expertise despite detectives having intimate knowledge of major investigations. One recently retired senior officer said: ‘The perception was always a “master and servant” one – not a partnership or meeting of minds in the operational meets legal process of a case.’ Another retired senior officer said: ‘In general, COPFS staff always treated police as their servants.’ A third retiree said: ‘Some COPFS staff felt that the police were there to do their bidding and this often exceeded their remit whilst some officers bowed to the wishes of the Crown even when it was not appropriate.’ There was also a claim that COPFS staff treated police officers as if they were ‘thick’. Former Police Scotland superintendent Matin Gallagher carried out research highlighting tensions between police and Crown Office officials It is understood officers had wanted to re-interview Ms Sturgeon during the Branchform investigation after she submitted a written statement but did not proceed following discussions with the COPFS. Mr Gallagher warned that such tensions risk undermining confidence in the justice system at a time when public scrutiny of decision-making is already intense. He also argued that accountability is muddied because while police officers often become the public face of controversial investigations, prosecutors can have substantial input into key decisions that remain largely hidden from view. The former superintendent said the Murrell affair has exposed problems which have been building for years and called for a re-think of the relationship between prosecutors and police. Police Scotland insisted that relations between the organisations remain strong. A spokesman said: ‘Police Scotland works closely with the COPFS. Both organisations take a collaborative approach to investigating and prosecuting crime and play an important role in keeping Scotland safe.’ A COPFS spokesman said: ‘We do not recognise the characterisation of the relationship between COPFS and Police Scotland set out by some anonymous sources quoted in this opinion article. ‘Collaboration between police investigators and prosecutors in complex or sensitive cases is a well-established feature of Scotland’s justice system. ‘Working together does not diminish the operational independence of the police, nor does it compromise the independent exercise of prosecutorial decision-making.’