A FORMER SNP convener has called for “structural reforms” after Peter Murrell pleaded guilty to embezzling over £400k in party funds.
A founding organiser of the SNP’s left‑wing Common Weal Group, Craig Berry – who quit the party in 2021 for Alba amid mounting concerns over internal democracy – has issued an open statement demanding sweeping reforms.
Murrell, the SNP’s former chief executive and estranged husband of Nicola Sturgeon, admitted at the High Court in Edinburgh last week to embezzling party funds over a 12‑year period, using SNP money for personal expenditure.
Berry told The National that the scandal has exposed what he described as “systemic” governance failures at the top of the party.
He added that it can’t be resolved by apologies alone and is instead calling for four “non‑negotiable” structural changes to how the SNP is run internally.
In his statement, Berry pointed back to the CWG’s internal campaign in 2020, which he said raised concerns about missing ring‑fenced funds and wider transparency issues inside the party.
He claimed that instead of investigating, SNP headquarters “blockaded” attempts by grassroots activists to probe the party’s finances and sidelined elected members who pushed for answers.
Berry said those warnings came years before Operation Branchform and Murrell’s eventual embezzlement charge, arguing that the current crisis could have been mitigated if internal critics had been listened to.
In his statement, Berry demanded the immediate adoption of four key reforms which he said are essential to “restore internal transparency and movement integrity.”
This includes:
- Automatic disclosure policy: Enact a mandatory disclosure model ensuring that the elected National Executive Committee (NEC) is briefed concurrently with senior leadership on all long-term party liabilities, structural loans, and commercial obligations.
- Grassroots decentralisation: Reinvest central campaign funds to establish permanent Regional Organisers and localized policy debate forums across Scotland to return power to ordinary members.
- Structural NEC division: Split the NEC into two specialized, independent subdivisions: a professional oversight board dedicated strictly to compliance and risk management, and a political strategy council focused entirely on campaigning and policy development.
- Real-time auditing: Implement an immediate, forward-looking governance model that builds modern, transparent, real-time digital auditing systems for all current and future campaign funds.
Commenting on the fallout from the case, Berry said: “The financial strain, cratering membership, and deep public distrust currently being felt are the direct consequences of a machine that chose to crush its own whistleblowers rather than face the truth.
He added: “History has proven our grassroots rebellion was undeniably right. If leadership wants to genuinely salvage what is left of our movement’s integrity, they must implement these four binding structural changes immediately to ensure financial oversight can never be locked behind closed doors again.”
A spokesperson for the SNP said: “The SNP has been the victim of embezzlement of £400,000 of our members money by our former Chief Executive over a period of twelve years from 2010 to 2022.
"As Police Scotland have stated, Peter Murrell went to great lengths to cover his tracks and his actions are an utter betrayal of the Scottish National Party and the thousands of individuals who believe in the cause of independence.
"The governance and financial structures and processes of the SNP have been reviewed, updated, and strengthened over the course of the last few years. The Governance and Transparency Review Group reported to the SNP's Annual National Conference in 2023, with final recommendations to be taken forward - the implementation of those recommendations included changes to the SNP's constitution and rules, which were debated at a special Constitutional Conference in March 2025. The party now has a modernised backroom operation which, as we saw in the election result, is highly effective at supporting campaigning around the country.”
