Nicola Sturgeon, the former First Minister of Scotland, has spoken publicly about the emotional impact of her estranged husband Peter Murrell’s recent guilty plea to embezzling over £400,000 from the Scottish National Party (SNP). Murrell, who served as SNP chief executive from 2001 to 2023, admitted to misappropriating party funds between 2010 and 2022, using the money to purchase a range of items including luxury goods, a motorhome, cars, kitchen gadgets, expensive watches, and everyday products such as hand cream and toilet seats.

In an interview aired shortly after Murrell’s guilty plea at the High Court in Edinburgh, Sturgeon expressed her sense of personal anguish and frustration at being associated with crimes she said she did not commit. She described feeling as though she were “serving a sentence for a crime I did not commit” and emphasised that she would not apologise for “somebody else’s crimes.” Sturgeon pointed out that while she takes responsibility for her own actions and decisions, she rejects accountability for her husband’s wrongdoing.

Sturgeon also revealed that, despite their close relationship, Murrell never explained his motives for the embezzlement. She said he informed her just days before the court hearing that he planned to admit guilt but did not provide any further explanation. She added that she had not seen him since that conversation, as she was not emotionally able to engage with him at the time. Sturgeon confirmed that she had asked Murrell for an explanation but had received no response.

The former First Minister described her feelings of pain and bewilderment upon discovering that some of the gifts Murrell had given her, including a £425 pendant from a jewellers in Shetland, were bought with stolen party funds. She recalled the emotional difficulty of realizing that presents she had cherished were financed through deception. Sturgeon also stated that she was not involved in, nor aware of, Murrell’s purchases, citing their high combined salaries as a reason she did not question the origins of gifted items.

Sturgeon has maintained that she was “completely cleared and exonerated” by police investigations, despite being arrested and questioned as part of the inquiry into the missing funds. She also described feeling betrayed and hurt by Murrell, saying he “lied to me and betrayed me” and put her “into a position of real peril.”

The case has reignited calls for an independent inquiry into the SNP’s finances, with some political figures urging parliamentary scrutiny. Andrew Bowie, the shadow Scottish Secretary, recommended a Westminster committee examine the “wider institutional questions” related to the Murrell case. However, SNP leader John Swinney has opposed further parliamentary inquiries, citing the extensive five-year forensic police investigation already completed. Scottish Tory deputy leader Rachael Hamilton criticized Swinney’s position, calling for answers regarding what she described as an “epic SNP scandal.”

Murrell’s sentencing is scheduled for later this month, coinciding with the SNP’s upcoming by-elections in Aberdeen South and Arbroath and Broughty Ferry. The case continues to cast a shadow over the party as it faces electoral challenges.