MPs on the Scottish Affairs Committee are set to push for a joint investigation by the UK Parliament and the Scottish Parliament into the Peter Murrell embezzlement scandal. Sources close to the committee said a joint probe would be wise after the SNP and Scottish Greens blocked a Holyrood inquiry.
Murrell, the estranged husband of former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, was jailed for over five years after admitting to stealing more than £400,000 from SNP funds while serving as party chief executive. He pleaded guilty last month, sparking calls for a full inquiry given that the police investigation involved public money.
Operation Branchform Costs and Questions Over Public Funds
Operation Branchform, which had input from the UK-wide National Crime Agency, cost over £2 million. Questions have also been raised about the role of the publicly funded Crown Office. The SNP has faced scrutiny over whether Murrell had access to public funds during his 12-year crime spree.
The pro-independence Greens helped John Swinney’s party kill proposals for a Holyrood probe, leaving Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee (SAC) in the driving seat. Members of the Labour-dominated committee had supported a Holyrood inquiry, but with that option closed, their next preference is for a joint probe.
Westminster Source: Joint Probe Would 'Respect Devolution'
One Westminster source said conducting a joint probe would “respect” devolution. A second source said it was “on the money” to suggest the SAC would propose that MPs and MSPs work together. Another insider predicted the SNP and Greens would reject a joint probe, paving the way for Westminster to go it alone.
The SAC, chaired by Labour MP Patricia Ferguson, has already written to bodies including the Electoral Commission to ask if any public funds given to the SNP had been put at risk. It is understood any probe – joint or otherwise – would not examine the internal governance of the SNP.
Political Reactions: Labour, Lib Dems, and Tories Weigh In
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “We have consistently urged the SNP to do the right thing by allowing an inquiry, which would help restore public trust, to take place at the Scottish Parliament. It is disappointing that the SNP, aided by their Scottish Green allies, have sought to prevent that from happening. The Scottish Affairs Committee has signalled its intention to hold an inquiry jointly with the Scottish Parliament, and we welcome such a move. However, I would again urge John Swinney and the SNP to do the right thing, to work with opposition parties to enable an inquiry which will allow the people of Scotland to get to the truth about this murky scandal.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said: “The criminal investigation was about Peter Murrell, but that is far from the end of the story. Bigger questions remain about what senior SNP figures knew and whether public money was stolen. By refusing to sanction a Holyrood inquiry, John Swinney is putting his party’s interests before his country’s. SNP and Green parliamentarians are behaving like passive nodding dogs by continuing to block this probe, and I do not believe they are not at all curious about how deep Murrell’s crimes went. That’s why the UK Parliament’s Scottish Affairs Committee should step in.”
Tory MP Andrew Bowie said: “The case for an inquiry into this SNP scandal is overwhelming but John Swinney is trying every trick in the book to avoid one. Having already shamefully blocked an inquiry at Holyrood, it would be outrageous if Swinney rejected calls for both of Scotland’s Parliaments to investigate this. We must have an inquiry to get the truth about how Murrell was able to get away with his crimes for so long.”
SNP Could Boycott Westminster Probe
As reported by the Daily Record, the SNP could boycott any Westminster investigation by arguing their party is answerable to Holyrood. Former Labour First Minister Lord McConnell backed a joint probe into the scandal, arguing the issues raised were UK-wide. He said: “This is about the fact that the SNP were the third largest party at Westminster for the best part of 10 years. They received over that time millions of pounds of public money to organise their party affairs. Obviously there are also issues about signing off accounts, and how seriously that was all taken, and I think on all these areas there are issues to be looked at, and recommendations that must be made. So I think this should be a joint public inquiry.”
First Minister John Swinney has so far refused to say if he would cooperate with a Westminster probe. “We’ll see what happens,” he said. Swinney's spokesperson recently took a harder line: “If they do decide to hold an inquiry, then the First Minister and the Government and the party will need to decide how to respond. But I think the First Minister’s clear view is that if the committee decides to proceed it will destroy the credibility of the committee and its convener.”
At Prime Minister's Questions, outgoing PM Keir Starmer criticised the SNP's opposition to an inquiry: “They call for transparency and accountability for everybody else. When they have giant questions of their own to answer, nothing to see here, don't want to know, don't want to have an inquiry.”
