SENIOR Nats nicknamed their disgraced ex-chief exec ‘Magpie Murrell’ after the mystery disappearance of SNP cash in the 1990s — but that didn’t stop him being thrust to power later by John Swinney.
Former party chiefs claimed Alex Salmond had to cover up for his petty thieving in his early days as a staffer.
The incident, which allegedly involved £500 of Party funds, came decades before his large-scale Party fraud came to light.
And First Minister Swinney faces questions amid claims he turbocharged Murrell’s career — by appointing him as SNP chief executive in 2001 during his first stint as party leader.
One veteran party figure said: “This is not the first time that Peter has done this.”
And Kenny MacAskill, who served as Justice Secretary and Deputy First Minister, told of an incident during Murrell’s time as an aide to Mr Salmond in the north east.
He said: “Alex let him off with his earlier sins. Some money went missing and Alex decided to cover it and move him on.”
Another SNP insider said the former SNP leader was forced to repay £500 which had been stolen from party funds in Peterhead.
Murrell was membership convenor for the town’s branch in 1989, then an agent in the 1992 local elections before starting work as a research assistant for Mr Salmond in 1994.
Insiders claimed he once forged Alex Salmond’s signature on parliamentary expenses while working for the then Banff and Buchan MP.
A source said: “When Alex found out, he put him on a warning and said if there was anything like that again, he’d be out.
“Peter had a track record within the party, particularly when he was up in Banff and Buchan, so it was in his blood that he’d do this.”
Former diplomat Craig Murray, claimed Mr Salmond told him the same story.
Swinney claimed he was unaware Murrell had been accused
of theft in the 1990s when he appointed him as the SNP’s chief executive
in 2001. He insisted any such allegations would have been flagged as part of due diligence.
Swinney said: “I’ve heard nothing of that nature, no. I’m completely unaware of that. That’s news to me.“If there were issues about his conduct, they would have been aired in the process and they certainly weren’t.”He gave Murrell the job during his first stint as leader. And maintained the crook’s years of undetected offending were not a failure of SNP governance but the acts of one devious criminal. He said: “What’s failed here is people’s moral conduct. It’s not that systems failed.”
Swinney repeatedly refused to be drawn on years of internal dissent about a husband and wife team holding the top two posts in the SNP. But said the arrangement “was not my gift”.
He said on Twitter/X: “When Murrell ran Alex’s office in North East Scotland 20 plus years ago, Murrell stole a sum from party funds. Alex replaced it with his own money and protected Murrell who had problems.
“I told Alex his kindness was admirable and covering for Murrell I understood but continuing to employ him was nuts.”
Some insist the episode led to him being given the nickname ‘Magpie Murrell’.
But despite claims swirling in the party that he could not be trusted, Mr Swinney appointed him as chief executive in October 2001.
The SNP had faced financial struggles since the 1999 Holyrood election, which had sparked a fierce row between treasurer Ian Blackford and then chief exec Michael Russell about who was to blame.
But shortly after Murrell was handed the top job at SNP headquarters.
Swinney said at the time: “I will be setting Peter some demanding targets to build SNP HQ into the campaigning and fundraising centre we require to win the 2003 elections.’’
An insider told how concerns had been raised privately by Alex Salmond, adding: “Alex did not trust Peter an inch.
“It was Swinney who made Peter chief executive. Alex was not happy with that at all. He believed Peter was totally untrustworthy.”
Kenny MacAskill — a close ally of the late ex-First Minister, who died in 2024 — said: “Peter was never one of the lads, you might say, and he was a churchy type. But he was close to Swinney as they were Corstorphine lads.”
Both were born in the Edinburgh suburb in 1964.
Murrell once sparked fury at a Holyrood hearing by claiming he’d been distracted by magpies. He made the bizarre comment while testifying virtually to the Alex Salmond inquiry during the pandemic in 2021. Labour’s Jackie Baillie said he kept looking to the left of the camera. She asked: “Is there anybody in the room with you?”The then SNP chief exec told her from his home: “There’s a magpie. Actually, there’s two of them.”
Murrell’s charges reveal in June 2020 he used £241 of embezzled SNP funds to buy four bird feeders. Magpies have a reputation for nicking shiny objects.
Mr MacAskill added: “They knew each other and were comfortable. “He was a safe pair of hands for John and he was just left to it.”
Murrell, who married Ms Sturgeon in 2010, was known as a strong campaign strategist. And his grip on power tightened in 2014 when his wife replaced Alex Salmond as party leader and First Minister in the wake of their independence referendum defeat.
Sources said Murrell then became “deeply involved” in all aspects of government, despite not having a Cabinet role. He led efforts to transform Ms Sturgeon’s image and orchestrated a pop star-style arena tour after she entered Bute House.
Murrell regularly briefed his spouse before public appearances at conferences and campaign events.
SNP veterans felt that having both in the party’s top jobs was a recipe for disaster.
But Mr Salmond was subjected to a foul-mouthed rant when he told them the arrangement should end.
An insider recalled: “Alex took them aside separately and explained it wasn’t good governance for Peter to remain as the chief executive.
“The two of them literally told him to f*** off. If they had followed his advice, maybe they wouldn’t be the pickle they are in now.”
One former SNP parliamentarian added: “Peter was cunning and definitely a bit slippery but he was on our side and the party machine ticked along just fine.
“Plenty of people were wary of him but there was no way he could have been easily removed, given his relationship with Nicola.
“Looking back, it’s remarkable this husband-and-wife show was allowed to go on at the top of the SNP.
“They personified the party — and he obviously crossed a line.
“Police found what they found but people will now be asking how far his offending behaviour goes back.” Another insider said: “Peter got away with all the earlier misdemeanours.
“He probably thought he could get away with anything, especially as he was married to the party leader and First Minister. And he’s obviously got a track record.”
Murrell raised suspicions over his honesty in December 2020 when he gave evidence under oath at Holyrood’s so- called Salmond Inquiry. When asked about an alleged WhatsApp group conspiracy against the ex-First Minister, he replied: “I’m not on WhatsApp. It’s not a social media platform I use.”
A book of Sturgeon’s speeches was among items deleted from Murrell’s rap sheet as part of the plea deal.He had been charged with using SNP funds to pay £22.04 for the tome Women Hold Up Half The Sky. Another deletion was the £86.89 purchase of ten books by Val McDermid. Sturgeon is a close personal friend of the crime writer. Also removed from the charge were two pairs of Nike women’s tracksuit bottoms and two Nike Element women’s tops. Smaller purchases deleted included large amounts of toilet roll from Amazon.
But within minutes it emerged that a WhatsApp account was registered to his mobile phone number — and showed up as “last seen” in the weeks before his his appearance before the holyrood enquiry.
Murrell also insisted he hadn’t been at his and his wife’s home in Glasgow during a meeting between Mr Salmond and Ms Sturgeon that was seen as a pivotal moment for the inquiry. He then later contradicted his own evidence, saying he’d arrived home before the meeting ended.
Murrell finally resigned as SNP Chief Excutive in March 2023 — just a month after Ms Sturgeon had announced she was standing down.
He quit amid a row over the party HQ lying about membership numbers. Weeks later, cops raided the couple’s detached house.
Kenny MacAskill said the backdrop to the embezzlement scandal was a career-long mission by Murrell to further Ms Sturgeon’s ambitions.
The former senior Nat said: “Peter was extremely loyal. She knew that, so she refused to allow him to stand down.
“Every spat saw him do as she and the machine she ran wished.”
The pair announced in January 2025 they were splitting after 15 years of marriage. Two months later cops said Sturgeon would not face charges.
However, the pair were seen regularly at their Glasgow home — which can’t be put on the market due to a Crown Office order banning its sale while proceedings are ongoing.
Kenny MacAskill said: “This really was all for his princess. Not a speck or
smidgeon was to blemish her. Murrell did it all for her, whether she
says she knew or even knew it all.”
By CONOR MATCHETT
caltonjock 