Court documents reveal that the spending linked to former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell did not begin until nine years after his appointment in 2001, but then grew steadily from small purchases into a much larger pattern of expenditure. The spending reportedly started at a low level in 2010, before increasing in 2013 and 2014, the year of the Scottish independence referendum. By 2016, it had accelerated sharply, with more than 100 items purchased at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds.
The documents say that nearly 300 items were bought during the Covid pandemic years, with the highest level of spending recorded in 2020. That was the year Murrell purchased a luxury Niesmann and Bischoff Smove 7.4e motorhome for £124,550. The day after buying the vehicle, he ordered a book called Take the Slow Road: Inspirational Journeys Round England and Wales by Camper Van and Motorhome, one of three books he bought on the subject. In the months that followed, he also bought accessories including awning screw-in pegs for £15.98 and wheel clamps and keys for £119.98.
The year 2020 was also when questions first emerged from SNP activists and MPs about the whereabouts of £600,000 in donations to the party that had reportedly been set aside for independence campaigning. After those concerns were raised, the spending continued but at a lower rate. In June 2021, Murrell lent the party £107,620. Police Scotland then launched Operation Branchform, its investigation into the SNP’s finances, the following month.
According to the court documents, the embezzlement did not end until October 2022, when two plastic food containers were purchased. Murrell resigned as SNP chief executive in March 2023.
