Peter Murrell's £124,000 motorhome only 'driven four miles'

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Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell pled guilty to embezzling just over £400,000 from the party
The money funded a “lavish lifestyle”, including a motorhome, cars, luxury goods and hundreds of smaller purchases over more than a decade
He logged the items falsely on the party’s accounting software as varying kinds of expenses
The facts of the case were agreed at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday
Murrell remains in custody and is due to be sentenced later in June
The case is driving major political reaction and scrutiny of the SNP

The luxury motorhome, bought by Peter Murrell with more than £124,000 of SNP funds, was driven only four miles.

During a hearing at Edinburgh High Court, prosecutors laid out the narrative of the 12 years of embezzlement carried out by SNP’s former chief executive and Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband.

In 2020, Murrell bought a £124,550 Niesmann and Bischoff Smove 7.4e motorhome for his own personal use from a dealership in Stafford.

Peter Murrell in the dock at Edinburgh High Court on June 2, 2026 STV News

It was delivered to him at Halbeath Industrial Estate in Dunfermline. The 61-year-old then drove it to his mother’s house in the city where it remained.

The vehicle was seized by officers and, on inspecting the odometer, they discovered it had only driven four miles.

Inside the The £124,550 Niesmann and Bischoff Smove 7.4e motorhome bought by Peter Murrell with SNP funds. Crown Office

Murrell created a false invoice, listing the SNP HQ as the address and claiming it was a van bought for party purposes.

After it was queried, he suggested to colleagues that the motorhome could be used for campaign purposes. No other SNP staff member or politician ever saw the motorhome.

When police searched the vehicle, they found no SNP campaign materials or other party paraphernalia.

The £124,550 Niesmann and Bischoff Smove 7.4e motorhome bought by Peter Murrell with SNP funds. Crown Office

It, the prosecution said, was configured as a motorhome for pleasure purposes.

Inside, officers found expensive Le Creuset and Joseph and Joseph kitchenware, an Alessi teapot and Molton Brown toiletries.

Shortly after buying the motorhome, Murrell bought guides for “inspirational journeys” around Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland in a motorhome.

Luxury watches recorded as ‘event merchandise’ by SNP software

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A 126-page indictment details hundreds of things Murrell bought using the £400,000 embezzled funds

Advocate depute Alan Cameron KC read out a list of items while setting out the prosecution narrative at the hearing, which took place before judge Lord Young.

A number of luxury watches worth £9,000 were among the items purchased using party funds.

The purchases were recorded as “event merchandise” by the SNP’s accounting software. He also purchased an egg poacher for £23 and logged it as “computer hardware purchases – internet cabling.”

The court also heard that Murrell bought a £3,000 robotic lawnmower, as well as Montblanc items worth more than £23,000.

Mr Cameron KC said: “This item was described as legal fees and found when police searched his house.”

Most of the items were not seized during the warrants executed at Murrell’s home and the SNP HQ.

The items recovered from his home included two luxury coffee machines and a £3,000 robotic lawnmower.

Police found but did not remove a fitted home library installed with party funds, a wooden library ladder, a bathroom vanity, a boiler unit in the kitchen, and fitted mats.

A hand-chased silver wine coaster from Hamilton & Inches jewellers costing £3,500 was misdescribed as spending on “leadership expenses” with the description “Hamilton & Inches sterling silver presentation quaiches”.

It was found at the accused’s home when it was searched by police.

What happens next?

Murrell will return to the High Court in Edinburgh on June 23 where he will be sentenced. Until then, he remains in custody.

There are no formal sentencing guidelines for embezzlement in Scotland, but precedent indicates that for amounts over £100,000, a custodial sentence will be imposed.

In 2024, Michael Paterson was jailed for four years after being found to have exploited his role with Aberdeen City Council to embezzle a total of £1,087,444 from his employer over a 17-year period.

In 2023, the office manager of an Edinburgh property firm stole £900,000 through embezzlement and fraud and was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.

In 2022, former SNP MP Natalie McGarry was sentenced to two years in jail after being found guilty of embezzling almost £25,000 from two pro-independence groups.