Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has claimed she knew nothing about a £100,000 motorhome bought by her ex-husband Peter Murrell. The motorhome was one of the most extravagant purchases made by the former SNP chief executive using funds embezzled from party members.
Sturgeon's Defense
Murrell – who was married to Sturgeon throughout his £400,000 buying spree – pleaded guilty to the 12-year embezzlement this week. In an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg today, Sturgeon was repeatedly asked how she could not have noticed her then-husband splashing out on a litany of luxury goods.
She said the couple were both on high salaries, had no children and rarely went on holiday, so she assumed he had the disposable income to afford them. Asked why she did not question the motorhome parked outside a house belonging to her parents-in-law, she said she visited their home ‘less than a handful of times’.
Sturgeon continued: ‘My mother and father-in-law’s house has a driveway in front of their house where we parked the car, then we’d go into the house. ‘Where the motorhome was, was round the side of the house which is not immediately visible in the way we went into the house, and it’s between their house and the next-door neighbour’s house. ‘I genuinely, genuinely don’t have any conscious memory of seeing that motorhome – if I saw it, I probably would have assumed it was a neighbour’s.’
Other Luxury Items
Murrell also spent money on items including expensive watches, pens, kitchen gadgets, toilet seats and DVDs. The former first minister has come under scrutiny over what she did or did not know about her husband’s crimes in the days since his guilty plea.
Sturgeon told the BBC she felt like she is ‘serving a sentence for a crime I did not commit’. She added: ‘I will take responsibility for the things I do, the decisions I make. I’m sitting here with you right now, answering questions because I believe strongly in that accountability. ‘But I am not responsible for the crimes that my former husband committed and I’m not going to apologise for somebody else’s crimes.’
Murrell, 62, was remanded in custody after admitting embezzling £400,310.65 from party funds at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday. He served as the SNP chief executive from 2001 to 2023, while Sturgeon was Scotland’s first minister from 2014 until she stepped down in 2023.
