MP Michelle Thomson was bullied, threatened and forced out of the SNP on the orders of then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon after her name became linked to a police inquiry.
And the former first minister’s right hand woman Liz Lloyd and husband Peter Murrell played key roles in the operation to coerce Michelle Thomson to resign the party whip, the Sunday Mail can reveal. Edinburgh West MP Thomson was never a suspect, arrested or charged with any offence and not even spoken to police when SNP HQ used strongarm tactics to kick her out the party.
Sturgeon and former SNP chief Murrell demanded she resign and threatened her career if she refused to make it look like her own decision. The revelations will pile greater pressure on Humza Yousaf who has rejected calls to suspend Sturgeon from the SNP or ask her to take a step back because of Operation Branchform.
A source said: “Michelle was ruthlessly ejected from the party on the orders of Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell as a damage limitation strategy in the face of a few bad headlines. As if that is not bad enough she was bullied and manipulated into making it look like it was her idea.
“It was a disgraceful way to treat someone who was innocent and extremely vulnerable at the time. Compare her treatment to that of Sturgeon and Murrell’s own conduct in response to being arrested and questioned as suspects and it is difficult to conclude it is anything less that rank hypocrisy and double standards of the highest order.
“Neither of them have any intention of resigning from the party despite the fact this is about an alleged fraud involving party funds. There is a growing feeling among a number of MSPs and MPs that they should do the right thing, put the party and country first, and step down themselves.”
Thomson was voted into parliament in the May 2015 general election but shortly afterwards it came to light police were investigating a solicitor who had carried property deals on her behalf years earlier. The transactions in 2010 and 2011 led to Christopher Hales being struck off by the Law Society of Scotland.
It referred the case to the Crown Office which instructed a police investigation. Thomson had denied any wrongdoing and police made clear she was not a suspect.
But the 58-year-old received a visit from two officials at her constituency office before a statement was released in her name by party HQ hours later claiming she was stepping down voluntarily.
A second source said: “Michelle was at an incredibly low ebb and frankly vulnerable when she was bullied to resign the SNP whip and shunned from the party. She had been spoken to by police in relation to an investigation into a former solicitor.
"She was never declared a suspect or arrested or charged with any crime, and never has been. Despite that Sturgeon’s special advisor and right hand woman Liz Lloyd managed the process of forcing her out while making it look like it was her own decision.
“Murrell was also deeply involved in this nasty plot to purge her rather than offer support on the understanding that she was innocent until proven guilty. Michelle was asked to attend a meeting at her constituency office where headquarters officials suggested she would have to step down despite the fact she made clear that she didn’t want to.
“Hours later she received a phone call to say a decision had been taken that she would resign the party whip and that the alternative was having it removed by the party – this came directly from Sturgeon via Lloyd. A statement in her name which she had no part in drafting was then emailed to her.
“Even after Michelle’s office deleted the line stating she was resigning the whip and released an edited version, party headquarters immediately put out the full version.”
As a result of the move Thomson was no longer a member of the parliamentary party and could not speak for the SNP on business issues at Westminster. Many of her own colleagues refused to speak to her again.
She lost her seat at the next election and only returned to politics as an MSP in 2021. The SNP’s official line remains that Michelle resigned voluntarily.
Last week the party’s deputy leader Keith Brown insisted that “according to her own statements... she took the decision to withdraw from the whip at Westminster”.
Labour MSP Martin Whitfield said: “It’s clear that in the SNP it is one rule for Nicola Sturgeon and another for everyone else. Not content with using mob-like behaviour to pressure others into giving up the whip, SNP foot soldiers are now creating a protective ring around their erstwhile boss.”
Scottish Conservative party chairman, Craig Hoy added: “This is the latest twist of the knife in the SNP’s bitter civil war. Earlier this week, SNP Deputy Leader Keith Brown was desperately insisting Michelle Thomson had voluntarily given up the SNP whip, but it seems clear that she was pressurised and intimidated into doing so by Nicola Sturgeon’s inner circle.
“This just highlights the hypocrisy of Nicola Sturgeon’s preferential treatment. Not only did Humza Yousaf let her off the hook, but he’s sent his deputy out to try to gaslight those like Michelle Thomson who have spoken out.
“Humza Yousaf’s leadership is utterly toothless – he is simply too weak to discipline his former boss because he knows he owes her his job.”
Thomson was a prominent figure in the pro-independence campaign group Business For Scotland during the 2014 referendum before winning a seat at parliament. She was one of 56 SNP MPs elected to Westminster in the general election in May 2015 after winning the seat of Edinburgh West and was appointed the party’s spokesperson for business, innovation and skills.
She refused to comment but referred us to a statement released last week in which she called for Nicola Sturgeon to step back from the party.
She said: “Some eight years ago when an MP I was required to resign the SNP whip although I was never personally under investigation and was certainly not arrested. After careful consideration, I feel that the right thing for the former First Minister to do is resign the SNP Whip.
“This is not because she doesn’t deserve to be treated as innocent until proven guilty - she does, but because her values should be consistent.”
As Nicola Sturgeon’s chief of staff, Lloyd’s salary of between £90,565 and £108,062 a year was paid from public money.
A source added: “As a taxpayer funded employee of the first minister at Holyrood it is difficult to imagine why Lloyd was involved in forcing an MP out of the party, but she was Sturgeon’s right hand woman.”
An SNP spokesperson: “These matters were dealt with at the time and are now closed.”
Liz Lloyd could not be reached and the party said we would need to contact her separately.
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