Sturgeon wishes she had not kept Murrell on as SNP chief executive

Nicola Sturgeon has said she wishes she had not kept Peter Murrell on as SNP chief executive when she became party leader in 2014.

The former first minister described her now estranged husband as a "key figure" in the party's success under her late predecessor Alex Salmond.

Sturgeon also said she did not think it was fair that Murrell - who embezzled more than £400,000 from the SNP over a 12-year period - should lose his job when she was promoted.

But she told the audience at a book festival in Wales: "Definitely, with the benefit of hindsight, that was a decision I wish I had taken differently."

On Monday Murrell admitted using party funds to purchase items including luxury goods, jewellery, cosmetics, two cars and a motorhome.

He was remanded in custody following the plea and could face a lengthy prison term when he is sentenced on 23 June.

An examination of facts surrounding the case is due to be heard on 2 June.

Sturgeon appeared at the Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye, in Powys, in conversation with journalist Francine Stock to promote her 2025 memoir, Frankly.

She told the audience that Salmond, who later expressed reservations about the couple's professional roles, had appointed Murrell in 2000.

And the ex-MSP said her estranged husband's offending, which started in 2010, pre-dated her election as party leader.

Sturgeon said: "My judgement was that the chief executive was not line-manged by the party leader. There is a national executive committee.

"My judgement was that it was not fair for him to lose his job, that he had done well, because I was taking on a new job.

"If I could turn back the clock, of course, I would take a different decision."

The former first minister said she took responsibility for keeping Murrell in his post but added: "I still don't think that makes me responsible for somebody committing a crime."

Sturgeon also denied supressing questions about the SNP's accounts during her time as first minister.

She said there was no suggestion of Murrell having embezzled SNP funds until 2023.

The SNP books had been audited by professional accountants, Sturgeon said, and it was "unfair" that there had been claims that money raised for a second independence referendum campaign had been used for election campaigning.

On Thursday, Sturgeon appeared at a writers' event in Listowel, County Kerry to promote her book.

She told the audience it had been the worst week of her life, adding she had dealt with the fallout from Murrell's plea in the public gaze.

Sturgeon said: "Just as other people have been, I have been deceived.

"I have been misled, I have been lied to and I have been betrayed, and I won't be the last woman who has been betrayed by her husband."

She added that she would "probably need to sit with a therapist", saying that "this is a long-winded way of saying I am not OK".

Sturgeon previously described the day she was arrested as part of Operation Branchform - the name of the Police Scotland investigation into SNP finances - as the worst day of her life.

Earlier on Thursday, First Minister John Swinney dismissed calls for a Holyrood inquiry into the case during FMQs on Thursday, but said he was "appalled" by Murrell's conduct.

He said he did not believe an inquiry was needed following a five-year "forensic" police investigation.

Operation Branchform began in 2021, investigating allegations of fundraising fraud within the SNP.

During questioning, Sturgeon repeatedly answered "no comment" to detectives.

Her lawyer, Aamer Anwar, said Sturgeon had later provided a "detailed written response" to Police Scotland questions.

Murrell spent more than 20 years as chief executive of the party before resigning in March 2023 due to controversy over details of membership numbers.

He was arrested less than three weeks later in connection with the Operation Branchform investigation into SNP funds.

Sturgeon became first minister and leader of the SNP in November 2014, succeeding Alex Salmond in the wake of the Scottish Independence Referendum.

Campbell Gunn, who acted as an adviser to both, claimed Salmond had warned Sturgeon that Murrell's position as chief executive was "untenable" while she was party leader.

Gunn told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime programme: "Nicola chose to ignore that advice.

"And I have to say, in retrospect, a lot of the grief that has engulfed the party over the past six or seven years could have been avoided had that advice been taken."