According to the Scottish Sun, detectives involved in the infamous raid on her marital home in Uddingston in April 2023 angered Ms Sturgeon by referring to her as her husband’s surname. She told them not to address her as Mrs Murrell after he was arrested on the same day.
At the same time, she was left humiliated after police erected a huge blue tent in her garden while they seized luxury goods which were bought by Murrell using illicit funds. These included items which she used herself, including her home library, as well as a library ladder.
A legal source said about the April 2023 raid: “She was not happy at all. She was raging. She told officers her name was Sturgeon and to address her as such. The officers were a bit surprised and bewildered.”
Ms Sturgeon has been mocked as “Mrs Murrell” by online trolls and her critics, and declined to comment on these new claims being made. But her lawyer did respond, telling the Scottish Sun: “What century are we living in? This really is pathetic.”
The former First Minister has denied any wrongdoing or knowing about his embezzlement. She was arrested by police in June 2023 and was a suspect in Operation Branchform, before the Crown Office decided not to go ahead with prosecuting her.
She also took part in a no comment interview with detectives before submitting a written statement which she originally vowed to publish, only to perform a U-turn. Reports at the weekend suggested that the SNP also frustrated Police Scotland during the probe.
John Swinney has refused to launch an independent inquiry into how Murrell managed to embezzle cash for so long – 12 years – and why he was given a free rein to do so. He was allowed to put through his own expenses without any oversight, and abused his position to put through fake ones.
Meanwhile, it is being alleged that Operation Branchform’s costs have risen to £3.5m due to SNP and Peter Murrell secrecy.
Murrell admitted embezzlement and was sentenced to five years and three months in jail last month at the High Court in Edinburgh, and claimed he would pay the money back. The SNP said: “A comprehensive investigation was carried out. Police uncovered that the SNP had been the victim of embezzlement.”