We now know how Peter Murrell embezzled from the SNP - but not why

We now know how Peter Murrell embezzled from the SNP - but not why19 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleDavid HendersonScotland news correspondentPA MediaPeter Murrell faces legal action to recover the moneyProsecutors have given more details about how Peter Murrell embezzled goods worth more than £400,000 using the SNP's money.What stands out from the narrative is the persistence, cynicism and devious tactics used by the man who was the party's chief executive for more than two decades.The Crown revealed how he used his privileged access to the SNP's accounting system to feather his own nest in a whole range of ways - with credit cards, SNP charge cards and direct transfers of money.That may go some way towards explaining how the SNP's auditors, party officials and his estranged wife Nicola Sturgeon apparently failed to spot his criminal activities over many years.He put false data into the system and claimed embezzled funds were for humdrum party purposes. This was enough to fool enough people, for enough of the time, to get away with more than £400,000.So now we know how he did it - but we still don't really understand why.He's yet to say - and the Crown narrative sheds no light on that.Perhaps he'll offer some explanation to the court before he's sentenced on 23 June.Murrell is likely to receive a hefty prison sentence, which raises the question of where he is likely to serve it.Scotland has no low-security prisons for white-collar criminals. In England, a 61-year-old first offender convicted of embezzlement would almost certainly go to an open prison - but that option does not exist in Scotland.That means Murrell will serve his time in a mainstream jail alongside murderers, drug dealers and violent offenders.Which prison might Murrell be sent to?One likely option is HMP Dumfries in the south of Scotland.It can hold up to 135 long-term and short-term men who need to be separated from mainstream prisoners because...