Nicola Sturgeon has stated that she feels as though she is being punished for an offense she did not commit, following her former husband Peter Murrell’s guilty plea to embezzling more than £400,000 from the Scottish National Party. Murrell admitted taking the funds between 2010 and 2022 to support an extravagant personal lifestyle that included a luxury motor home, a Jaguar SUV, a VW Golf, cosmetics, iPads and a high-value salt and pepper set. He will receive his sentence in June, the same month the SNP will contest two parliamentary by-elections in Aberdeen South and Arbroath and Broughty Ferry. The party has received calls for an independent review of its finances. Sturgeon served as Scotland’s first minister from 2014 to 2023, while Murrell was chief executive from 2001 to 2023. In a BBC interview, Sturgeon said she would not apologise for another person’s crimes and stressed that she accepts responsibility only for her own actions and decisions. She has repeatedly denied any knowledge of the offences and was not charged following a police investigation. She described being misled by her former husband and said she had been contacted by women who felt similarly betrayed. Sturgeon added that she intends to continue public life rather than withdraw.
