Murrell won't appeal his five-year jail sentence for embezzlement

Peter Murrell, former chief executive of the SNP and estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, will not appeal his five-year prison sentence for embezzlement. The court case concluded after the High Court in Edinburgh, where presiding judge Lord Young sentenced Murrell on June 23 following his admission to siphoning more than £400,000 from the party over 12 years. Reuters reports that his solicitor, Matthew McGovern of McGovern Reid in Bellshill, confirmed ahead of the Tuesday deadline that Murrell decided not to appeal. The judge described it as a “calculated crime of dishonesty,” with the wrongdoing increasing over time. Prosecutors said Murrell falsified accounting records and created fake invoices, enabling direct transfers from the SNP’s main bank account. The sentencing included references to purchases such as a £124,550 motorhome, and other spending on goods delivered between August 2010 and October 2022.