Nicola Sturgeon said she is “angry, hurt, sad and very distressed” after her ex-husband admitted to embezzling more than £400,000 from the Scottish National Party (SNP).
Peter Murrell, the party’s former chief executive, pleaded guilty when he appeared in the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday morning.
He was charged with embezzling £400,310.65 between August 2010 and October 2022, during part of his 22-year tenure as chief executive of the party.
Murrell admitted an amended indictment, which reduced the amount of the embezzled money down from more than £459,000.
He and former Scottish first minister Ms Sturgeon had previously been one of the most powerful couples in UK politics for many years.
In January last year, Ms Sturgeon announced she and Murrell had “decided to end” their marriage.
In a statement posted on social media on Monday, Ms Sturgeon, who stepped down as an MSP before the Holyrood election earlier this month, said her reaction was “difficult to put into words”.
“I am angry, hurt, sad and very distressed about the impact of his actions on family, friends and the SNP”, she said.
“To be deceived and let down by a husband I loved and trusted has caused me acute pain.
“Why he acted as he did is, and always will be, beyond my comprehension.”
Ms Sturgeon said she had “no knowledge or suspicion whatsoever that he was using SNP funds for personal purposes”, adding that she was “utterly appalled” by his actions.
She continued: “That I was fully cleared after a thorough investigation underlines that these are not my crimes. I was misled, just as others were.”
The former SNP leader accepted there would be a “political discussion in the light of what has happened” but said that for her this “has also been a profound personal trauma”.
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie insisted the plea “does not put the issue to bed” as she called on current SNP leader John Swinney to further address the case.
“John Swinney needs to explain what he knew and what the party knew,” she added.
Mr Swinney, who was last week formally re-elected as Scotland’s first minister, said the “level of personal horror” he felt over Murrell’s crimes was “difficult for me to properly convey”.
Describing it as being a “tough day” for the party, Mr Swinney told a press conference on Monday: “I am gutted by this today.”
His comments came as he said “sorry to the people who are affected” by Murrell’s crimes, saying that the money had been “stolen” from the party and accusing the former chief executive of “whole scale deception”.
“It is the conduct of Peter Murrell that has got us into that position,” the first minister stressed, saying that the former chief executive was “exclusively responsible” for what had happened.
Mr Swinney said he “never suspected” Murrell had been embezzling the cash, saying he had “no idea” why a campervan had been purchased, supposedly by the party.
But he was clear that the SNP had been “badly, badly, badly let down” by its former chief executive.
At court on Monday, Judge Lord Young told Murrell: “You have pleaded guilty to a charge of embezzlement over a period of 12 years.
“You embezzled just over £400,000 from the Scottish National Party.
“As the chief executive officer of that organisation throughout that period your actions constitute a gross breach of trust.”
Murrell, 61, has admitted using the SNP’s money to buy items including a motorhome and luxury goods, and towards the purchase of two cars.
The former party boss was first arrested in April 2023 as part of the police investigation into the SNP’s finances, and was charged in April 2024.
He appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in March 2025 where he faced a charge of embezzlement, making no plea.
The indictment included allegations that in 2020 Murrell used party funds to buy a £124,550 motorhome for his own personal use, and that he falsified accounting records in an effort to cover up his wrongdoing.
Sentencing is due to take place on 23 June and Murrell has been remanded in custody until then.
