NO taxpayer money was embezzled by former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, John Swinney insisted during a heated first session of First Minister’s Questions.
In the first FMQs of the new parliament, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay both raised Murrell’s case and suggested there were wider questions to answer about the culture in the SNP and Scotland’s justice system.
Hitting back, Swinney accused Sarwar of “victim-blaming” and said Labour did not have “leg to stand on” – pointing to the criminal allegations against former party frontbencher Colin Smyth, while he accused the Tories of lacking a “shred of decency” in their attacks on independent law officers.
Murrell, the estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, on Monday pleaded guilty to embezzling £400,000 in SNP funds over a 12-year period.
At FMQs, Findlay accused Swinney and Sturgeon of having “enabled” the crimes. “Sturgeon warned SNP members to stop asking difficult questions and John Swinney assured everyone that the SNP's finances were sound,” the Tory group leader said.
“Their shield of protection gave Murrell a licence to steal, and people want to know why Nicola Sturgeon wasn't in the dock beside her husband.
“So will John Swinney back our calls for the Lord Advocate to publish all information relating to this case?”
The First Minister pointed out that the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) “does not disclose the rationale for them taking decisions other than where they pursue prosecutions against individuals”.
He further noted that COPFS had already given Findlay assurances “that the highest standards have been applied to a deep and forensic criminal investigation which resulted in the prosecution of one person and one person alone”.
“If Mr Findlay had a shred of decency about him, he would express his respect for the justice system in Scotland, and leave the professional officers of our police service and our professional prosecutors to do their job,” Swinney added.
Findlay then asked if the SNP leader would consider “legal action to force Peter Murrell to pay compensation … [or asking the] Crown Office to use proceeds of crime laws to recover luxury stolen goods from Peter Murell and Nicola Sturgeon?”
After accusing the Tory leader of being “desperate”, Swinney said: “As a matter of fact, in court on Monday, the Advocate Depute made a verbal motion for confiscation in terms of section 92 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, and the decision on this matter will ultimately be for the court to make.
“Given that, as the Presiding Officer told us on Tuesday, there remain live proceedings until sentence, I am unable to say any more beyond that.”
He then went on to address claims that public money may have been embezzled by Murrell, who as SNP chief executive may have had access to funds from the Electoral Commission or “short money” provided to opposition parties in the Commons.
Swinney said: “The only issue that could apply there is in relation to a policy development grant from the Electoral Commission. But I want to reassure parliament that in order to receive funding, a party needs to apply to the Electoral Commission outlining the work that will be done in the forthcoming year and submit an audited report to the Electoral Commission outlining what grant funding has been spent upon.
“It's only on receipt of the audited report that the final payment of the grant is made by the Electoral Commission. So that confirms that this is SNP supporters' money that has been embezzled and not public money.”
An Electoral Commission spokesperson appeared to back Swinney's statement, saying: "The SNP received policy development grants as set out in law. Parties have to report on their use of the grant, and have that grant expenditure independently audited. The Commission checks carefully that the grant is spent correctly.
"The SNP have provided those audits, we have checked them, and we have seen no evidence of misuse of policy development grant funds. If there is evidence of any misuse, the Commission will take appropriate action to safeguard public money."
Elsewhere, Scottish Labour’s Sarwar called for a parliamentary inquiry into the SNP, alleging that the party had a “culture that allowed [Murrell] to commit and think he could get away with his crimes”.
He said that the SNP culture was one which Swinney had “helped build, enable, and defend”, adding: “Will he back a parliamentary inquiry, or will he double down on protecting a culture that he helped build that enabled a man he appointed to embezzle more than £400,000?”
Swinney insisted that an inquiry would have nothing to “add to a five-year forensic police investigation that has resulted in the successful prosecution of an individual and his guilty plea”.
He went on: “That was an astonishing attempt at victim-blaming by Anas Sarwar, and he should be ashamed of himself and what he said.
“There is one person and one person alone who is responsible for the embezzlement of my party's funds, and that's Peter Murrell.”
“My last word to Mr Sarwar on this subject is, I would gently say to him: people in glass houses should not throw stones.
“He knows that the Labour Party is up to its neck in difficulty, whether it's about live criminal cases that involve former members of this parliament, or whether it's Peter Mandelson and his influence over the Labour government.
“Anas Sarwar hasn't got a leg to stand on in taking me to task on these issues.”
