The Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer has deleted a social media post that praised the disgraced former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell for securing him a significant salary increase. The now-deleted tweet expressed strong support for Murrell, who recently admitted to embezzling over £400,000 from the SNP while married to Nicola Sturgeon.
Deleted Tweet and Context
Greer's previous message, which had been posted on the X platform, has since been removed. The deletion comes as the Scottish Greens are expected to block plans for a Holyrood inquiry into Murrell's corruption. Murrell is facing potential jail time after confessing to stealing funds from the SNP, a crime that began in 2010. He resigned as CEO in 2023 following a separate scandal involving misleading SNP membership numbers.
On the same day Murrell stepped down, Greer praised him for his actions during the 2014 independence referendum. At the time, Greer worked for the pro-independence campaign Yes Scotland, which collaborated closely with the SNP. The deleted tweet read: "When I worked at @YesScotland I was *massively* underpaid compared to my colleagues. That was until someone told @PeterMurrell and he kicked off about it on my behalf, without even needing to be asked. Our management team gave me a 25% pay rise soon after."
A link to the post now displays the message: "This page doesn't exist. Try searching for something else." It is understood the post was removed following Murrell's guilty verdict.
Political Reactions
Tory MSP Murdo Fraser commented: "Ross Greer’s belatedly realised his gushing praise for Peter Murrell was totally misguided. Even at the time of his tweet the SNP’s former CEO was mired in scandal and was arrested only a matter of weeks later. If Greer truly wants to distance himself from his disgraced friends in the SNP then he should do the right thing and back our calls for a Parliamentary inquiry."
Scottish Labour is set to force a vote on Wednesday regarding a parliamentary inquiry into the Murrell scandal. They seek a probe into aspects involving public money, including the length of the police investigation and actions of the Crown Office. However, John Swinney's SNP opposes the inquiry, and Greer's party is also expected to vote against it, likely rendering the Labour proposal unsuccessful.
Scottish Greens' Position
A Scottish Greens spokesperson stated: "Peter Murrell’s crimes were a terrible breach of the trust of SNP members and supporters. He will now face the consequences of that. If further investigations are needed, they should be led by the independent Electoral Commission or Police Scotland, not political parties. There is an obvious conflict of interest in parties ‘investigating’ each other like this, not to mention the cost on top of the millions already spent on the police investigation. Scottish Green MSPs will focus on delivering policies that save people money and protect our planet. That is what all parties should focus on, rather than trying to turn our justice system into a political circus."
If Holyrood refuses to launch a probe, Westminster’s Scottish Affairs committee is prepared to initiate its own investigation. The committee has reportedly begun a scoping exercise for a potential inquiry.
