First Minister was told of Peter Murrell's SNP embezzlement charge nearly a year ago

Scotland’s First Minister was given the details of the charge against his party’s former chief executive nearly a year ago, documents have revealed.

Documents released by the the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service show that Scotland’s top law officer wrote to John Swinney in March telling him that Peter Murrell was accused of embezzling £460,000 from the SNP.

It had been thought that the Scottish Government was informed last month when Murrell had been due to appear at the High Court in Glasgow for a preliminary hearing on February 20.

That hearing was then moved to after the Scottish Parliament elections and he is due to appear at the High Court in Edinburgh on May 25.

The Scottish Government has refuted any claims of any discussions about the postponement of Murrell’s next court appearance.

Last week, the Sun newspaper said it had seen an email showing Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain notified the First Minister on January 19 that Murrell was accused of embezzling almost £460,000.

The details of the indictment against Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband were not published until February 13.

Opposition politicians demanded that the Lord Advocate explain her message to the First Minister – accusing Swinney of gaining political advantage by having access to the information.

The Lord Advocate, who leads the Crown Office prosecution service and is part of the Scottish Government, told MSPs she sent the minute to the First Minister to inform him of a “significant development” in the case and to “ensure the Government is reminded of its legal responsibilities to restrict its comments”.

On Tuesday, in a letter to Holyrood’s Presiding Officer, the Lord Advocate explained that in informing Swinney of the charge against Murrell, she was following “existing practice”.

She provided examples of nearly 30 cases that the Lord Advocate has updated either the UK or Scottish governments on over the past three decades.

The cases include the investigation into deaths of young people at Polmont, the re-investigating of the Lockerbie bombing, the Glasgow Airport terror attack, the Glasgow bin lorry crash and the police probe into phone hacking by Andrew Coulson.

The Scottish Conservatives said the document shows “sleekit Swinney” was getting “secret information” about the “highly sensitive” Murrell case.

Labour said the “bombshell documents raise far more questions than they answer for John Swinney and his Government”.

The Crown Office said the documents showed that the Lord Advocate and all prosecutors had acted “in accordance with their legal duties”.

“Some of the principles and procedural steps she has outlined may not be familiar to MSPs or to the wider public,” said Crown Agent John Logue, chief executive of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

“Much of this work is not usually visible. That is because it is carried out carefully and independently, and, where required, confidentially, to protect the public interest and the integrity of the justice process.

“It is now important that the legal processes are allowed to run their course, so that the issues can be determined fairly and properly in court.

“The Lord Advocate has reiterated that she exercises her authority independently of any other person, and that there is a live case before the courts which must not be put at risk of prejudice.”

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: “It’s shocking to now discover that the Lord Advocate tipped off John Swinney about details of the highly sensitive criminal case against Nicola Sturgeon’s husband almost a year ago.

“While she gave Mr Swinney this dubious private briefing, the Crown Office was refusing to provide the same details to the public and the media who were kept in the dark.

“Sleekit Swinney should explain why he failed to come clean about getting this information almost a year ago.

“And when the Lord Advocate was being questioned in Parliament last week, why did she not come clean about her previous disclosure?

“This bombshell revelation adds to the existing stink and now explains why Mr Swinney has become increasingly shrill in his desperate attempts to deflect attention.

“The Lord Advocate must return to Parliament and give a full statement and straight answers to many outstanding questions.”