Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, Nicola Sturgeon’s husband, has been arrested in connection with a Police Scotland investigation into party finances.
The probe into £660,000 raised specifically for Scottish independence campaigning was launched after it was alleged money had been diverted from “ring-fenced” fund – sparking the exit of several senior people from the SNP.
The Independent takes a closer look at how the story of the finance inquiry and Mr Murrell’s arrest unfolded:
July 2021
Police Scotland launched an investigation into potential criminality in the SNP’s fundraising after claims around £660,000 raised since 2017 for a second independence referendum campaign was spent on other things.
In the months preceding the announcement of the probe, three senior figures – including SNP treasurer Douglas Chapman, SNP MP Joanna Cherry – quit the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
Mr Chapman had complained that a lack of transparency about the finances had prevented him carrying out “fiduciary duties”. Police had initially said it was assessing complaints of irregularity.
May 2022
It emerges that the Police Scotland probe has been codenamed Operation Branchform. Criminal complaints from at least 19 people were received by detectives to date, according to the Daily Record.
Sean Clerkin, the campaigner who made the first formal complaint, called on police to “step up” their inquiries.
The home of Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon has been raided
December 2022
It emerges that Mr Murrell gave a personal loan of £107,620 to the SNP in June 2021.
The chief executive gave the SNP the loan to help it out with a “cash flow” issue after the last Holyrood election, the party said.
The loan came the day after a SNP leadership meeting discussed the funding being looked at by Police Scotland, according to The Herald.
No interest was being charged by Mr Murrell and £47,620 was repaid in two instalments in August and October of 2021, according to Electoral Commission records.
Nicola Sturgeon with husband Peter Murrell
February 2023
Nicola Sturgeon resigns as SNP leader, saying that the pressures of the job had become “very difficult” after eight years in charge.
Grilled about the police investigation in March, soon after she resigned, Ms Sturgeon indicated she had not been interviewed by police.
However, senior SNP figures were reportedly interviewed by police detectives in the days before she announced her exit, amid the ongoing probe – codenamed Operation Branchform.
Mr Chapman was among those interviewed in connection with the probe into claims of “missing” ring-fenced referendum cash, according to Scotland’s Sunday Mail.
Nicola Sturgeon resigned in February
March 2023
Mr Murrell resigns as SNP chief executive, following a row over transparency about party membership numbers and calls from party figures to make way after the departure of Ms Sturgeon.
SNP media chief Murray Foote had quit after journalists were misled about the true membership figures, for which Mr Murrell took responsibility.
The newly-elected SNP leader Humza Yousaf defended Mr Murrell at the time of his departure, saying he didn’t know why anyone would “demand” to get rid of someone who had “won countless elections”.
April 2023
Ms Sturgeon’s husband is arrested. Police Scotland said a 58-year-old man – understood to be Mr Murrell – is in custody and is being questioned by detectives.
Officers are also carrying out searches at a number of addresses as part of the investigation – including the South Lanarkshire home of Ms Sturgeon and Mr Murrell.
The SNP said it was not appropriate to comment, but added: “At its meeting on Saturday, the governing body of the SNP, the NEC, agreed to a review of governance and transparency – that will be taken forward in the coming weeks.”
