As questions grow over the £60k amendment to the indictment, Russell Findlay says: ‘This appears to be more evidence of Nicola Sturgeon benefiting from her husband’s heist.’
He was initially due to enter a plea on February 20, but the hearing was delayed. In early March, his lawyers began negotiations with prosecutors on a plea deal with more than 700 items worth £58,735 removed from the indictment.
Many of them appear to have been gifts for his now-estranged wife, including women’s knickers, books written by Ms Sturgeon’s favourite authors, female sportswear, and luxury hair products and styling equipment.
Items removed from the indictment include:
- £886 worth of Studio Fix foundation makeup
- 16 over-mirror lights totalling £582
- two motion sensor makeup mirrors, totalling £480
- a £300 Dyson hairdryer
- nine makeup organisers totalling £116
- a collection of Val McDermid novels worth £97.31
- eight copies of McDermid’s political compendium, Imagine A Country: Ideas For A Better Country
- GHD hair stylers at £129
- a Philip Kingsley elasticiser, a high-end hair product, at £146
- several pairs of Sloggi women’s briefs
- Nike women’s sportswear for £184
Russell Findlay, the leader of the Scottish Tories, told the Scottish edition of The Times: “This appears to be more evidence of Nicola Sturgeon benefiting from her husband’s heist. But the terms of Peter Murrell’s plea deal are shrouded in secrecy. Why did £60,000 worth of alleged stolen goods get wiped from the original indictment?
“Did Murrell delete items like these gin glasses because his wife had flaunted them on social media? The Crown Office should come clean and also explain why Murrell was able to delay his case until after the election, handing the SNP a massive advantage.”
The tweet was spotted by Sam Taylor, from the pro-UK organisation These Islands, who said: “It’s surely no coincidence that the difference between the total alleged embezzlement in the original indictment (£459k) and the total to which Murrell pled guilty (£400k) is very close to £60k – the amount of his outstanding loan to the SNP.
“It looks as though Murrell’s lawyers argued that he couldn’t be guilty of embezzling his own money, and so deleted ~£60k worth of items from the original indictment. And the deletions include lots of women’s items and items of particular interest or connection to Sturgeon.”
A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “The Crown carefully considers any plea tendered. A plea reflects the criminality the accused is prepared to accept responsibility for, and prosecutors must determine independently whether accepting that plea is in the public interest.
“In this case, the plea involved a clear recognition of guilt and secured a conviction for criminal conduct. The charge to which the accused has pleaded guilty captures the key elements of the offences and provides a proper basis for the judge to proceed to sentencing.
“The decision to accept the plea reflects an independent professional judgment that it was in the public interest to do so.”