Summary

  1. Crown Office releases new images from Operation Branchformpublished at 11:10 BST

    Prosecutors have released 55 images from the investigation into Murrell's embezzlement.

    They include new pictures of the £124,550 motorhome parked outside his mother's then home, as well as close-up looks at the luxury bags, watches and pens that Murrell bought illegally.

    The pictures were taken by Police Scotland during Operation Branchform, its long-running investigation into the fraud, and shared by prosecutors now the case has concluded.

    You can view them here, or search through all the images by using the interactive table below.

    The pictures have been separated into seven different categories.

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  2. WATCH: Murrell quizzed by detectivespublished at 11:06 BST

    Media caption,

    Peter Murrell questioned over £400,000 embezzlement

    Police Scotland has released clips of officers questioning Peter Murrell following his original arrest.

    Detectives ask Murrell what he will say to those who question why SNP cash reserves are so low.

    They suggest to Murrell that £19,000 spent on luxury pens alone is an “outrageous amount of money” and ask why the SNP needs to spend that amount of money on luxury pens.

    He is also asked if he created a false invoice in order to put the purchase of a Jaguar car through the party’s books as another item.

    To each question, Murrell gives the same reply: “No comment”.

  3. Nicola Sturgeon releases statement through lawyerpublished at 11:04 BST

    Nicola Sturgeon, former first minister of Scotland, appearing on the BBC1 current affairs programme, Sunday with Laura KuenssberImage source, Jeff Overs/BBC

    Nicola Sturgeon has released a statement through her lawyer Aamer Anwar, after her estranged husband Peter Murrell was sentenced earlier this morning.

    Anwar says Sturgeon remains "angry, hurt and distressed" about the devastating impact of Murrell’s actions on her, his family, friends and the SNP.

    The lawyer adds that Sturgeon was deceived and let down by her husband whom she had trusted, and "utterly appalled" by his actions and will never understand why he acted as he did.

    The former first minister also "finds it disgraceful and beyond outrageous" that she is being asked to comment on so-called "background" briefings by the police or Crown Office, according to Anwar.

    He says: "Whilst anonymous sources have desperately tried to insinuate guilt, it is clear following a two-year gold-plated and robust investigation, Ms Sturgeon was neither charged, prosecuted nor convicted of any offence.

    "Ms Sturgeon is innocent of any crime and whilst that might be a source of annoyance for some, it remains a fact that it was Mr Murrell who was charged, tried, convicted and imprisoned for his crimes today."

  4. Police chief says Murrell had disregard for those who trusted himpublished at 10:54 BST

    Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Houston led the force’s four-year investigation into Murrell, codenamed Operation Branchform.

    He says the jail sentence is proof that those who “embezzle vast sums of money will not escape justice, regardless of how high a profile or role they may hold”.

    ACC Houston says Murrell’s “calculated” crime “proved his disregard for those who placed their trust in him”.

  5. 'There is a lot more to come out' - Clerkinpublished at 10:52 BST

    Paul O'Hare
    BBC Scotland, at the High Court in Edinburgh

    Sean Clerkin - the first person to report concerns about the SNP's funds - claims he was turned away from the first police station where he attempted to file a complaint.

    He then attended a second in Barrhead, Renfrewshire, in March 2021 where officers took a statement.

    Within five hours he says police were at his door, leading him to believe they were already looking into the SNP’s finances.

    Asked if he feels any personal satisfaction, Clerkin says: “Some satisfaction but not complete satisfaction.

    “We need to get to the bottom of it. There is a lot more to come out.”

  6. How former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell spent the £400,000 he embezzledpublished at 10:48 BST

    Luxury motorhomeImage source, COPFS

    The court previously published 125 pages of documents detailing Murrell's purchases.

    BBC Scotland’s data visualisation team has published a searchable database of the items he bought with SNP money from 2010 to 2022.

    The largest single transaction, in 2020, was £124,550 for a luxury motorhome paid for entirely with party funds.

    Murrell was accused of creating false documents to disguise the payment as a legitimate party expense.

    His first major purchase, a £33,000 Volkswagen Golf, was made in early 2016 using £16,489 of SNP money.

    He used £57,500 of party cash to buy a Jaguar I-PACE car in 2019, and sold it for £47,378.76 two years later.

    Murrell also used SNP funds to purchase two Bremont watches for a total of £9,350, a £4,225 Starwalker World Time fountain pen and a £3,500 Hamilton and Inches silver wine coaster.

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  7. Murrell leaves the dock after he is jailed for more than five yearspublished at 10:46 BST

  8. Scottish Conservatives say Sturgeon and Swinney 'enabled' Murrellpublished at 10:45 BST

    Russell Findlay has accused John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon of “enabling” Peter Murrell’s embezzlement from the SNP.

    The Scottish Conservative leader said those who raised concerns about the party’s finances had been “warned” about doing so, allowing Murrell’s theft to continue.

    He said Murrell got away with a “brazen and large-scale crime spree”.

    Findlay added: “It’s no wonder that Swinney is so desperate to thwart an inquiry which would examine many issues, including whether public money was stolen.”

  9. WATCH AGAIN: Judge says it remains unclear why Murrell carried out the embezzlementpublished at 10:40 BST

  10. Campaigner looking at a legal action against Sturgeonpublished at 10:37 BST

    Paul O'Hare
    BBC Scotland, at the High Court in Edinburgh

    Clerkin says he is looking at three further legal options.

    The first is a private prosecution, in England or Scotland, against Nicola Sturgeon - who was told by police last March that she was no longer under investigation.

    The second is a class action on behalf of those who donated money to the party.

    And the third is to demand a Crown Office review into the decision not to prosecute Sturgeon.

    The campaigner also calls on first minister John Swinney to issue a public apology and to offer to compensate those who lost money as a result of the scandal.

  11. Clerkin says Nicola Sturgeon has questions to answerpublished at 10:34 BST

    Paul O'Hare
    BBC Scotland, at the High Court in Edinburgh

    Outside court after the sentencing, Clerkin spoke to the media.

    Asked if he felt sorry for Murrell, Clerkin says: “I don’t have any sympathy for him whatsoever.

    “There are people who have donated money and have since died and their families are left feeling angry.”

    The political activist also calls the case into what happened to the SNP’s £667,000 fund for a second independence referendum to be reopened.

    He tells the media that former first minister Nicola Sturgeon - who was arrested under Operation Branchform and later released without charge - has questions to answer.

  12. How did we get here?published at 10:32 BST

    Sean Clerkin
    Image caption,

    Sean Clerkin outside the High Court in Edinburgh this morning

    Police Scotland first received a complaint about possible mismanagement of SNP finances in March 2021.

    Concerns around the party's independence referendum campaign fund had been raised in online blogs.

    But the first person to report the matter was political activist Sean Clerkin.

    Officers then received around 12 further reports, mainly from donors via email or online contact forms.

    Operation Branchform was set up and officers work closely with specialist economic crime detectives, based at the Scottish Crime Campus at Gartcosh, to piece together a complex jigsaw.

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  13. Analysis

    Murrell's punishment won't end with his releasepublished at 10:30 BST

    David Cowan
    Home Affairs Correspondent, BBC Scotland

    As a long-term prisoner, Peter Murrell will be eligible for parole halfway through his sentence - that will be after he has served about two-and-a-half years.

    Assuming he is of good behaviour, we can expect the parole board to sanction his release at that stage.

    It’s also very likely that he could be freed earlier than that under a home detention curfew, with a tag and controls over his movements.

    As his lawyer noted this morning, his punishment won’t end there. Peter Murrell’s reputation is in ruins.

    One last point - his defence team will be considering whether Lord Young has gone too far. They may well appeal in an attempt to have that jail term reduced.

  14. Proceeds of crime hearing later this yearpublished at 10:25 BST

    Paul O'Hare
    BBC Scotland News, at the High Court in Edinburgh

    The next major development in this case will be a proceeds of crime hearing which has been scheduled for 14 September in Edinburgh.

    The amount Murrell must pay back has not been made public and will be based on a series of calculations, which will include inflation.

    One thing we do know is that he intends to fully repay what is often described as his ill-gotten gains.

    During the hearing Lord Young sought clarification that the funds in question were under Murrell’s sole control.

    His lawyer, John Scullion KC, confirmed that was the case.

  15. Lord Advocate praises probe under 'significant scrutiny'published at 10:20 BST

    Scotland’s new Lord Advocate has hailed the work of police and prosecutors following Murrell’s sentencing.

    Ruth Charteris KC, who was only appointed to the position of the country’s top law officer last week, said more than 500 witness statements were taken during the investigation.

    She said it had been a “lengthy and high-profile case conducted under significant scrutiny”.

    John Logue, chief executive of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said it was “understandable” that the public wanted more information on the case given the high level of public interest.

    But he said the investigation had to be allowed to take its course.

    “It would not have been appropriate to comment in detail while the criminal investigation and court proceedings were ongoing,” he said.

    “As in all cases, prosecutors had to protect the investigation and act fairly to everyone involved.

    “Criminal cases require careful, evidence-led preparation and decisions reached through normal legal processes.”

  16. Analysis

    Huge moment in the history of devolutionpublished at 10:16 BST

    Paul O'Hare
    BBC Scotland, at the High Court in Edinburgh

    This is a hugely significant moment in the history of devolution.

    Peter Murrell was a towering figure in the SNP and central to its transformation from a fringe organisation to an election-winning machine.

    But from 2010 to 2022, a period when he masterminded victories in three Holyrood and three UK elections - in terms of seats won in Scotland - he was embezzling money from his own party.

    It is a truly remarkable case that will be talked about for years to come.

  17. WATCH AGAIN: Murrell 'overwhelmed by feelings of embarrassment and shame'published at 10:14 BST

    Peter Murrell's defence KC, John Scullion, told the judge that the former SNP chief executive accepted full responsibility for his actions and had expressed remorse and guilt.

  18. Analysis

    An unimaginable fall from power for Murrellpublished at 10:12 BST

    Paul O'Hare
    BBC Scotland News, at the High Court in Edinburgh

    Ten years ago today Peter Murrell was contemplating the result of the UK’s referendum on its membership of the European Union.

    As chief executive of the SNP his focus would have been on what the outcome of the Brexit vote would mean for his party and, more widely, the Scottish independence movement.

    It would have seemed unimaginable then that, a decade on, he would be leaving the High Court in Edinburgh to start a prison sentence of five years and three months.

    To be honest, despite having just witnessed his departure from the dock, it still seems unimaginable now.

  19. WATCH AGAIN: Murrell arrives in court for sentencingpublished at 10:09 BST

  20. Analysis

    Murrell showed no emotion in courtpublished at 10:07 BST

    Paul Ward
    BBC News Scotland, at the High Court in Edinburgh

    I was sitting with the pool cameras allowed in the main body of the court to film the sentencing hearing.

    I could see Peter Murrell handcuffed by his right hand to a prison officer as he arrived in court, wearing a dark suit and navy tie.

    The metal cuffs could be heard jangling as he walked to the dock. They were unlocked before he sat down.

    When the hearing began he looked straight ahead, blinking, as his defence lawyer told the court that Murrell expected no sympathy.

    As well as the cameras in court there was also a sketch artist, another rarity in Scottish courts.

    She was studying Murrell as he sat in the dock and took some notes before leaving the court room to start her sketch.

    As he was sentenced, Murrell looked straight ahead listening to the judge. He showed no emotion as he was told he would serve five years and three months in jail.

    He was then again cuffed by his right hand and led out of court to prison.