Nicola Sturgeon’s husband will give evidence to the Alex Salmond inquiry this morning - his second appearance before MSPs.
Peter Murrell, who is also SNP chief executive, will be quizzed by MSPs who were unhappy about his first evidence session in December.
A special Holyrood committee is investigating the Scottish Government’s unlawful probe into sexual misconduct complaints against the former First Minister.
Salmond successfully pursued a judicial review over the Government probe and the taxpayer was saddled with a bill of over £500,000.
The fiasco also ended the long-standing friendship between Sturgeon and Salmond, whose allies believe he was targeted by the Government.
Separately, Salmond was acquitted of criminal charges following a trial last year.
The Holyrood Inquiry has mostly heard from civil servants, but MSPs have also contacted senior party figures like Murrell, who has faced claims he plotted against Salmond.
WHO IS PETER MURRELL?
Murrell became SNP chief executive in 1999 and married Sturgeon eleven years later when she was Deputy First Minister. Although he is a hugely powerful figure in Scotland’s largest political party, Murrell has until now retained a low profile as CEO.
WHAT IS HIS ROLE IN THE INQUIRY?
The Holyrood Committee first wrote to Murrell in his capacity as chief executive in the summer of last year. They asked him about any knowledge he had of the Government complaints, and requested he produced any relevant communications.
His written submission led to oral evidence in front of MSPs in December. Some MSPs were dissatisfied and he will appear again this morning.
WHAT ARE THE KEY ISSUES?
Two matters are likely to come up at the Committee session
Firstly, Murrell confirmed sending messages in January 2019 which showed him urging the police to be pressurised in the Salmond case. He said he regretted the way he worded the messages, but denied being part of a plot to bring down the former SNP leader.
However, he was also asked about his use of WhatsApp and whether he was aware of a WhatsApp group formed on the day when the judicial review was lost. His recall by the Committee will likely focus on these matters.
The second issue centres on the meetings Sturgeon and Salmond had at her marital home in the middle of the Government investigation into the ex-FM. Murrell has said he did not know at the time what the meetings were about.
MSPs have questioned Murrell’s accounts of these summits and he is expected to be asked for more detail.
WHAT HAS STURGEON SAID ABOUT IT?
Sturgeon was quizzed about her husband’s appearance in front of MSPs by Tory Ruth Davison at First Minister’s Questions in December.
In an uncomfortable session for Sturgeon, she said she did not talk about the Salmond discussions with her husband at the time in 2018 because she is “not the office gossip”.
She also accused Davison of using her husband as a “weapon” against her.
HOW IMPORTANT IS THE MURRELL SESSION TODAY?
The hearing starts at 9am and will inevitably be a major political news story.
However, with Salmond also in line to give evidence this week, followed by Sturgeon on February 16, Murrell will probably have third billing this month.
