Ex-SNP chief executive Peter Murrell's legal aid withdrawn after embezzlement conviction

Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell has had his legal aid withdrawn.

The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) confirmed the shamed ex-political kingpin was no longer in receipt of the taxpayer-funded support.

Murrell, the estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, earlier this year admitted embezzling £400,310.65 from the SNP between 2010 and 2022.

He used the illicit funds to bankroll a lavish lifestyle - which included spending £124,500 on a top-of-the-range motorhome, £9,350.25 on two Bremont watches, £24,324.60 on Montblanc goods, £8,991.65 on coffee machines, and £2,618.16 on two salt and pepper grinders from Lalique.

Murrell, 61, was charged as part of Police Scotland's Operation Branchform - a long-running investigation into the SNP's funding and finances - and was jailed for five years and three months in June.

During court proceedings, defence lawyer John Scullion KC told judge Lord Young that his client intended to repay the embezzled funds.

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Murrell was granted legal aid in April last year.

SLAB has not revealed why the means-tested support was withdrawn.

The public body's published guidance outlines several circumstances in which it can end - including an applicant wilfully failing to comply with the regulations or making a false or incomplete statement about their resources.

The guidance says SLAB has "the right to recover its whole outlay" if breaches are discovered, and potential offences could be reported to the procurator fiscal.

A SLAB spokesperson said: "Legal aid and data protection legislation strictly limits what SLAB can disclose about individual applications.

"We can confirm the individual is no longer in receipt of legal aid."

Murrell is set to return to court in December for a confiscation hearing under proceeds of crime legislation.

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: "This affluent crook, along with Scotland's wealthy organised criminals, shouldn't get a single penny of taxpayers' money to pay their lawyers."

(c) Sky News 2026: Ex-SNP chief executive Peter Murrell's legal aid withdrawn after embezzlement conviction