26-05-2025
Peter Murrell news, interviews and updates on the former SNP chief executive
Peter Murrell is the SNP's former chief executive from 1999 to 2023.
The 60-year-old was responsible for the day-to-day running of the party, which was once the second largest in the UK.
He quit his role as chief executive on March 18, 2023, after his ex-wife Nicola Sturgeon resigned as SNP leader and First Minister.
Read on for all the latest Peter Murrell news, interviews and updates.
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Born in Edinburgh in 1964, Peter Murrell was married to Nicola Sturgeon.
They tied the knot in 2010 after meeting at an SNP youth weekend in 1988.
In a social media post on January 13, Sturgeon announced their separation, stating they had been "separated for some time now."
Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon (Image: Danny Lawson/PA Wire) Sturgeon said in the Instagram post: "With a heavy heart I am confirming that Peter and I have decided to end our marriage.
"To all intents and purposes we have been separated for some time now and feel it is time to bring others up to speed with where we are.
"It goes without saying that we still care deeply for each other, and always will."
Peter Murrell played a key role in transforming the SNP's fortunes.
The former public relations officer for the Church of Scotland joined politics and worked in Alex Salmond's constituency office before becoming SNP chief executive in 2001.
He took over from Michael Russell and was responsible for the party's day-to-day running.
Murrell is credited with modernising the SNP's operations and helping the party reach a membership peak of about 125,000 in 2018.
Under his leadership, the SNP became Scotland's most dominant political force.
He quit his role as chief executive on March 18, 2023, after Sturgeon resigned as SNP leader and First Minister, a month after the party misled the media about membership numbers.
Peter Murrell bought a £95,000 Jaguar car which became a subject of investigation by the police in 2023.
The Sunday Mail reported that police scrutinised the purchase of the electric I-Pace SUV from an Edinburgh dealership in 2019.
A similar vehicle was spotted at the couple's residence in March 2021, coinciding with the first fraud allegation made against the SNP.
The police also seized a £110,000 campervan earlier that year from outside the home of Mr Murrell's widowed 92-year-old mother in Fife.
The investigation forms part of a wider probe into SNP finances.
Peter Murrell was initially arrested in April 2023 as a suspect in connection to the embezzlement of funds from the Scottish National Party, dubbed as Operation Branchform.
His ex-wife and former First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, and the SNP's ex-treasurer Colin Beattie were also arrested and questioned in 2023 as part of the investigation into the SNP's funding and finances.
Police Scotland has been investigating alleged misuse of party funds raised for a second referendum since 2021, amounting to £660,000.
Murrell was later released without charge before being re-arrested and charged again in April 2024.
The home he shared with Sturgeon was searched, along with the SNP's headquarters in Edinburgh.
On March 20, 2025, he appeared in the Edinburgh Sheriff Court as part of the Operation Branchform investigation.
He made no plea and was granted bail.
