SNP writes off value of Peter Murrell motorhome but party still owes him £60,000

The SNP has written off the value of the motorhome bought by former chief executive Peter Murrell with party funds from its accounts, the documents show.

The party’s balance sheet, published on Thursday by the Electoral Commission, shows the value of the £100,000 vehicle has been removed from its books.

Murrell – the estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon – pled guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP earlier this year and was sentenced to more than five years in prison.

The motorhome was parked at the home of Peter Murrell’s mother Crown Office

During the long-running Operation Branchform police investigation which snared Murrell – and cleared Ms Sturgeon and former party treasurer Colin Beattie – the motorhome, which was parked at the Fife home of Murrell’s mother, became an object of both scorn and ridicule.

While it was initially claimed the vehicle would be used to campaign for the SNP during the pandemic, court records showed Murrell purchased a number of guides for motorhome holidays around the same time.

It also emerged in the accounts that Murrell is still owed £60,000 from a loan he gave the party in 2021.

The figure remains on the balance sheet, but the party says Murrell has not “formally requested” the sum back and it is unsure if it will have to be repaid.

A note in the accounts said: “There is no formal loan agreement in place, no interest is charged on the outstanding balance, and no specific repayment terms have been agreed.

“The former chief executive has not formally requested repayment of the outstanding balance.

“Due to the absence of agreed repayment terms and the lack of recent communication regarding settlement, there is uncertainty as to when, or if, this loan will be repaid to the former chief executive, and whether it may ultimately be waived or written off.

“This uncertainty regarding the future outflow of economic benefits from the party represents a significant judgment made by the party in assessing the nature of the liability and is disclosed to ensure the financial statements provide a true and fair view of the financial position.”

A proceeds of crime hearing is expected to take place next month, with the party seeking “to recover from the guilty party the full amount embezzled”, according to treasurer Peter Grant.

First Minister John Swinney said the accounts – which cover 2025 – show the “formidable financial strength” the party was in leading up to May’s Holyrood election.

The SNP boasted a £509,903 surplus, compared to a near-£400,000 deficit the year before, largely driven by cuts to staffing following a 2024 redundancy push.

“The publication of the SNP’s accounts today shows that at the end of 2025 the party was in a position of formidable financial strength, having made a surplus of more than £500,000 over the year,” Mr Swinney said on X.

“The rebuilding of the party’s finances allowed us to run a well-resourced campaign that took our positive message to every community in Scotland and made a major contribution to our historic election victory.”