Former SNP MSPs have questioned the amount of donations they were expected to make to the party as John Swinney comes under increasing pressure to agree to a Holyrood inquiry into Peter Murrell.
All Nationalist parliamentarians in Edinburgh and London handed over £250 from their monthly salaries to help with the party’s running costs during the time its then chief executive was found to have embezzled more than £400,000.
Murrell, 61, rocked Scottish politics this week when he admitted at the High Court in Edinburgh that he had went on a decade-long spending spree paid for by his employers.
The estranged husband of Nicola Sturgeon pled guilty to embezzlement after a lengthy police investigation found he had blown thousands on a string of luxury items including cars, cosmetics and kitchenware.
One former SNP MSP told the Record they had questioned their monthly donations to the party when the seriousness of the allegations against Murrell became clear.
They said: “It was expected that we all signed a direct debit for initially £250 from our net pay.”
When party bosses suggested the monthly donations were stepped up, they refused. The ex-MSP added: “By this point it was understood by many in the group that Peter Murrell was going to be found guilty. I, and others refused to pay any more.”
Another former MSP told the Record: “This money had to be paid into party headquarters, not to local branches. Failure to pay it could result in deselection.
“It totalled £3,000 a year after tax. Clearly, a chunk of that money was being misappropriated between 2010 and 2022.”
View 2 ImagesJohn Swinney takes questions from reporters after Peter Murrell’s court appearence
Joan McAlpine, an SNP MSP from 2011-2021, posted on social media this week: “The £250 sub was an obligation for all MPs and MSPs, but I was happy to pay, as I believed it was going to the cause.
“I had a good salary. But what of all the decent working people who could ill afford the £10 or £20 donations they made to the SNP?
“It’s disgusting, and requires an internal investigation. Or rather an independent investigation. Who was monitoring the spend within the SNP? How come the former volunteer treasurer and former volunteer officials who questioned the finances were slapped down by Nicola Sturgeon and her acolytes?”
It comes as Swinney yesterday claimed there was “no need” for a Holyrood inquiry into the Peter Murrell scandal to examine how the ex-SNP chief executive was able to get away with embezzling party funds for a decade.
The First Minister hit out at what he described as the “politicisation” of the criminal inquiry into Murrell, 61, who pled guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday. The estranged husband of Nicola Sturgeon was remanded in custody and will be sentenced next month.
As first reported by the Record, Scottish Labour are pushing for public hearings on how the former SNP chief executive got away with stealing from his party for twelve years.
Party deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “A parliamentary inquiry will get to the truth and help to restore trust in politics.”
Asked if there should be an inquiry, Swinney said today: “It’s up to Parliamentary committees to decide what issues they want to enquire into. But what the SNP has done is undertaken a review of its governance and, crucially, there has been a very comprehensive police investigation into this case, and what it found was criminality.
“And criminality has been addressed by the admission of guilt by Peter Murrell on Monday, and we should respect the independence of the courts in coming to that conclusion.”
Asked if he would have no issue appearing at such an inquiry, Swinney continued: “I don’t there’s a need for a Holyrood inquiry, there’s been a police inquiry, what more do we need to look into? There’s been criminality involved here, and that criminality has been addressed in the court.
“So I don’t think it’s appropriate for there to be a Holyrood inquiry – because what kind of Holyrood inquiry do that a detailed police investigation has just done?
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“I think it’s just an example of the politicisation of what are examples of criminality. And we should respect the decisions of the police and courts.”
An SNP spokeswoman said: “This is an internal matter for delegates of the SNP’s National Conference or council.”