Sturgeon's husband's embezzlement case sparks secrecy row

Telegraph

21-03-2025

Prosecutors have been accused of giving Nicola Sturgeon's husband preferential treatment compared to Alex Salmond by keeping secret the details of the embezzlement charge he is facing.
Joanna Cherry KC, a former SNP MP and a senior lawyer, questioned why the 'full details of the charges' against Peter Murrell had not been published following his private court appearance on Thursday.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) only disclosed he is facing an accusation of 'embezzlement', but sources claimed that legal papers at the hearing contained a series of detailed allegations.
Ms Cherry also expressed concern that the media were not been informed of Murrell's private appearance at Edinburgh Sheriff Court until long after it had finished.
In a procedure distinct to the Scottish justice system, appearances on petition are always made in private without the media being present in the courtroom.
But Mr Salmond left the same court to face a media scrum after he appeared on petition in January 2019 on charges including attempted rape and sexual assault. He was cleared of all charges in a later trial.
Lord Pentland, the new head of Scotland's judiciary, has been at the forefront of promoting 'open justice', saying the public and media 'have a right to know what happens in their courts'.
But Crown Office insiders rejected the allegations of double standards, saying that more information had been made public about the allegations against Mr Salmond as he was facing multiple charges.
Although they acknowledged that details of the embezzlement charge would have been made available to prosecutors and Murrell's defence team at Thursday's hearing, they said this would not be shared publicly.
They also insisted that the COPFS would not have informed the media in advance about Mr Salmond's appearance on petition.
The secrecy row broke out the day after Murrell, the former SNP chief executive, made no plea or declaration at the court hearing. The case was committed for further examination and he was bailed.
Police Scotland then announced that Ms Sturgeon, 54, and Colin Beattie, the SNP's former treasurer, were ' no longer under investigation ' after receiving 'advice and guidance' from the Crown Office.
This marked the end of the force's Operation Branchform, which examined the SNP's handling of more than £600,000 in donations raised in 2017 for a campaign to fight a second independence referendum.
SNP supporters questioned what had happened to the money when accounts lodged with Companies House in 2020 appeared to show the SNP only had £97,000 in the bank.
In May 2021, Ms Cherry resigned from the SNP's ruling national executive committee citing concerns about 'transparency' about the party's finances.
The former Edinburgh South West MP, who lost her seat in last year's general election, posted on X: 'I hope someone will also ask why the full details of the charges on the petition against Peter Murrell are not in the public domain. We are supposed to have #OpenJustice in Scotland & the same rules for everyone.'
She also posted that she was 'not surprised' that the police investigation of Ms Sturgeon had ended, adding: 'I wonder when full details of the charges against Murrell will be published? This happened very promptly when Alex Salmond first appeared in court.'
The Crown Office declined to add to a statement it issued the previous day in which it said: 'Professional prosecutors from COPFS and independent counsel are dealing with this case without involving the Lord Advocate or Solicitor General. All Scotland's prosecutors operate independently of political influence.'
The prosecution service had previously said that its two most senior figures, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain and Solicitor General Ruth Charteris, had recused themselves from decisions on the case.
They are also the SNP Government's two most senior law officers and are both ministers. Ms Sturgeon nominated them for the roles in June 2021.
The purpose of a private court appearance on petition is to put the accused on notice of the nature of allegations they stand to face, and allow for preparations to be made for proceedings by both prosecution and defence.
Normally, an accused's solicitor will be provided with the evidence which has been recovered. This allows them to prepare a defence or consider a guilty plea.
If the case is to proceed to trial, the formal accusation will be served in the form of an indictment within determined time limits.
A Crown Office spokeswoman said: 'There is not an indictment at petition stage, there is the petition document which sets out a first draft of charges against an accused. This is part of preparations for proceedings by both prosecution and defence.
'Appearances on petition are always made in private without the attendance of the media, and an outline charge or charge list only can be provided to media to assist.'