Police Scotland has said it has “no update at this stage” after Nicola Sturgeon was reported to the force last week by a prominent pro-independence blogger for allegedly handling stolen goods. The complaint, made by Stuart Campbell, who runs the Wings Over Scotland website, was filed with the constabulary on September 14.
Campbell, a pro-independence activist, said he had reported the former SNP leader for reset – a crime in Scots law defined as the dishonest possession of goods obtained by way of theft, robbery, fraud or embezzlement, in the knowledge that they were obtained that way. He said he had been “left with no alternative”.
No police contact yet
When asked by the Record, Police Scotland said it had no update on the status of the complaint. The Record also understands Campbell has yet to be contacted by any officers since making his report last week.
The complaint follows the imprisonment of Sturgeon's estranged husband Peter Murrell, who pled guilty in May to embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP during his time as the party's chief executive. Murrell used the cash to buy a string of luxury and high-end goods including cars, fountain pens, homeware, cookware and jewellery.
Sturgeon's gifts and denials
Sturgeon has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and insisted she had no knowledge of her husband's crimes before his arrest. But she did admit she had received gifts from Murrell which it was later revealed had been bought with stolen cash.
Sturgeon previously said she had “no reason to doubt” her husband was spending his own money as they earned high salaries, rarely socialised or went on holidays. It is not known whether Sturgeon has kept any of the items that Murrell gave her, or whether police seized them all during a raid of their home in April 2023.
Shetland pendant purchase
The owner of a jewellery shop in Shetland revealed earlier this year that Murrell had purchased a 9ct gold pendant depicting the Northern Lights. The item was bought in 2019 when Sturgeon and Murrell had visited Lerwick for a by-election campaign.
Seven years later that necklace was one of hundreds of items the ex-SNP CEO admitted purchasing using cash he embezzled from the SNP. Sturgeon was later seen wearing the pendant necklace on several occasions that summer and in the chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
“Nicola did wear that pendant quite often and you can see it on television and we're very proud of the fact that she was wearing a bit of Shetland Jewellery,” the shop's owner told BBC Scotland. “We were surprised to hear that two policemen were coming up to Shetland to interview us specially about our sale of a gold pendant to Peter Murrell,” Kenneth Rae added. “They were flown up from Glasgow at enormous expense and interviewed the people in the workshop and wrote down all the evidence they could gather and went away again.”
Complaint and response
Campbell previously said: “Given the refusal of Police Scotland to meaningfully answer our questions, we’ve been left with no alternative but to report Nicola Sturgeon for the crime of reset. We’re sure the matter will be handled with the exact same professional diligence and complete and fearless impartiality that it would be for any other accused person.”
Aamer Anwar, Sturgeon’s lawyer, previously said: “Under Scots law, Ms Sturgeon is an innocent third party but would never have legal ownership of property that has been embezzled – however, these are matters best addressed by Crown Office. None of the items in question were ordered by Ms Sturgeon and to suggest otherwise would be wholly inaccurate and defamatory.” The Record asked Sturgeon's solicitor for comment.
