Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell has had his legal aid withdrawn after being jailed for embezzling more than £400,000 from the party. The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) confirmed that Murrell, who is Nicola Sturgeon's estranged husband, is no longer receiving their assistance.
The board faced a backlash after the Record first reported that Murrell was receiving taxpayers' cash to fund his defence. The legal aid was terminated on July 28 after SLAB was in contact with Murrell's lawyers about his circumstances.
Proceeds of Crime hearing due in December
A Proceeds of Crime hearing is due to take place on December 7. This will determine the confiscation of funds which he embezzled from the SNP over a 12-year period while he was its chief executive.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Legal Aid Board told Press Association: “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.”
Arrest and sentencing
The former SNP CEO was first arrested in April 2023 as part of the police investigation into the party's finances. He was granted legal aid in April last year.
Murrell was sentenced in June this year after admitting embezzling £400,310.65 while he was the party's chief executive. Jailing Murrell for more than five years, Lord Young told him he had committed a “calculated crime of dishonesty”, with a “large number of fraudulent acts over a 12-year period while you were chief executive officer of the SNP”.
Political reaction
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.”
