Could MPs launch a Peter Murrell inquiry?

Attention is on the Scottish Affairs Committee, which is meeting tomorrow afternoon, after reports that the cross-party group will consider whether to launch an inquiry into how the onetime SNP chief executive and estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon embezzled hundreds of thousands of pounds from the party’s accounts.

Last month, Peter Murrell pleaded guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 between 2010 and 2022 from his party. Both supporters and critics of independence say there remain unanswered questions about the scandal – whether taxpayer money was involved, whether the party leadership could have done more at the time, and how it was allowed to happen over such an extensive period, if at all.

MSPs will get the chance to vote this week on whether the Scottish parliament should launch an investigation into questions that haven’t been answered by the Operation Branchform police probe – but First Minister John Swinney has already said he doesn’t think further investigation is needed.

The Scottish Greens will vote against an inquiry – effectively killing a Holyrood inquiry, barring any last-minute wavering.

But it is possible that a Westminster investigation could take place. Most of the members of the Scottish Affairs Committee are in favour of pursuing questions thrown up by the scandal – but SNP MPs have urged them not to move forward with a probe, claiming that it would be ‘partisan’ to do so.

The only SNP MP on the Committee, new Westminster group leader Dave Doogan, has suggested one would be an example of “unprecedented abuse of the House of Commons committee system” and a “party political stunt”.

He suggested that further investigating how Peter Murrell was able to whittle down party funds could create a “dangerous precedent for investigating rival political parties”.

Doogan said: “The police have already spent five years and more than £2m investigating Peter Murrell’s embezzlement crimes against the SNP. When John Swinney became SNP leader, he fundamentally reformed the way the party works, and ensured a full governance review and stringent financial accountability measures within the party.”

His colleague and former chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee, Peter Wishart, urged current members not to allow an inquiry – implying it could make the group seem “partisan” and suggesting if there is to be an investigation, it should be carried out by Holyrood.

He wrote: “Embarking upon an inquiry into matters that properly belong to the jurisdiction of the Scottish parliament, and doing so without its consent, risks reopening old divisions and damaging relationships that have been carefully rebuilt.”

Scottish Labour’s deputy leader, Jackie Baillie, has told Doogan to “show some backbone” and deviate from the First Minister’s position. She is pushing for a Scottish parliament probe, saying that SNP MSPs can still vote in favour of one this week – and would be “demonstrating their cowardice” if they “team up with the Scottish Greens to block an inquiry”.

The Labour MSP said: “It is for the SNP to answer why they are so scared of scrutiny and so desperate to stop the public from knowing the truth about the murky culture of cover-up and secrecy that is deep at the heart of their party. The more the SNP protest, the more people will think they have something to hide.”

The shadow Scotland secretary and Scottish Conservative MP Andrew Bowie said that Doogan and his party are “acting out of self-interest” in pushing back against further scrutiny: “There are so many unanswered questions about this scandal – including whether taxpayers’ money was stolen.”

He added: “Doogan’s wild hyperbole only fuels suspicions that John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon enabled Murrell by refusing to address the concerns raised by others in the SNP over the party’s finances.”

Former SNP MP Joanna Cherry – who has since resigned her party membership – has called for a Holyrood investigation, while the SNP’s onetime deputy Westminster leader Mhairi Black, who is also no longer a member, said the party’s national executive committee was the ‘perfect breeding ground’ for the scandal.

Tommy Sheppard, once an SNP MP, hasn’t explicitly called for a probe – but said the NEC ‘was not fit for purpose’ and that the party must start ‘asking how it happened, and how it was able to continue for so long’?

The Scottish Affairs Committee will meet privately at 2pm on Tuesday, where they are expected to consider whether an inquiry should take place. A decision either way will have lasting consequences.