Disgraced former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, jailed for embezzling more than £400,000 of party funds, has access to barista classes at HMP Dumfries, the prison where he is serving a five-year sentence.
The 61-year-old, who spent thousands of stolen pounds on luxury coffee machines for the home he shared with Nicola Sturgeon, can now learn to make the perfect cup as part of Life Skills lessons on offer to inmates, according to an official list of activities at the prison.
Luxury coffee machines bought with stolen cash
Murrell's love for high-end coffee was revealed during the investigation into his spending, with prosecutors releasing pictures and details of items bought with ill-gotten gains, including two Jura machines costing £1,865.75 and £3,231.90, and a Miele CM6300 worth £1,299. Together, the machines were worth more than £6,000.
He also spent £660.80 on a Jura glass coffee cup warmer, six Jura espresso cups and a stainless steel milk pipe, plus £141 on a manual espresso maker. He bought Le Creuset espresso and cappuccino mugs for £354.70, £84 on gourmet Portuguese beans, and £123.91 on roasted beans.
Other prison activities and political reaction
The activity list at Dumfries prison also includes a “painting party”, woodworking projects, Parkrun, gym sessions, Highland Games, half-marathon training, football tournaments and street soccer. Other Life Skills lessons offer hospitality training and cooking skills.
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Stephen Kerr MSP said the classes available to Murrell will raise eyebrows among ordinary Scots. He said: “While Murrell learns to perfect a £6k brew at taxpayers’ expense, Scots will be wondering whether this is really what prison is supposed to look like for someone who stole hundreds of thousands of pounds. The SNP’s former chief executive helped fund a lavish lifestyle with money that wasn’t his to spend – now the public are entitled to ask why he appears to be getting such a cushy ride in prison.”
Kitchenware and other luxury purchases
Murrell's obsession with luxury food and beverage items was documented in a shopping list released by the Crown Office after he was caged. Among the most extraordinary were Lalique crystal salt and pepper grinders costing £2,600, six John Lewis serving bowls and six smaller bowls at £570, a Smythson tea set worth £2,396, a pair of chopsticks for £102, a wine coaster costing £3,500, Le Creuset measuring spoons and cups at £43, Mickey Mouse ramekins at £39, an £85.24 Le Creuset tea kettle and an Alessi teapot worth £220.
He also purchased £702 Peugeot salt and pepper mills, another Peugeot mill costing £31.65, Wusthof shears at £62.97, Joseph Joseph tongs at £30, a £34.95 five-in-one kitchen tool, a £21.02 baking set, an OXO wooden spoon set at £14.52 and OXO containers worth £19. In total, the named kitchen and food-related purchases ran into more than £10,000.
Other elaborate spends included a Montblanc white gold fountain pen costing £4,225, another yellow gold Montblanc fountain pen valued at £2,137, numerous other Montblanc pens and accessories, and two Jura watches valued at £4,795 and £4,555.25.
More unusual purchases included a £10 Molton Brown Rhubarb & Rose hand cream, a £349.99 HD01 hairdryer (notable given Murrell is bald), Estée Lauder goods, luxury candles, reed diffuser refills, and a £2,495 Smythson Oyster jewellery box.
Motorhome and library funded by SNP cash
Murrell also used SNP funds to pay for a £1,946 fitted library at the Uddingston home he shared with Sturgeon, plus a £943 oak library ladder, and the infamous £124,550 Niesmann and Bischoff motorhome bought in October 2020 entirely with SNP funds.
During his trial, the court heard he used his position as chief executive to circumvent checks and balances, including through fabricated invoices and false information provided to junior staff. Handing down sentence, Lord Young told Murrell his crimes were a “calculated act of dishonesty”, representing a significant breach of trust to the SNP, its members and donors.
Murrell was initially sent to HMP Edinburgh in Saughton but moved to Dumfries jail after being taunted “24/7” by other inmates. A previous inspection report described the prison as “safe, if not the safest in Scotland”. It holds around 135 long and short-term inmates who require separation from mainstream prisoners because of the nature of their offences. Dumfries has also been praised for its staff-prisoner relationships and inmates' ability to maintain family links.
Murrell's estranged wife Sturgeon has made clear she will not visit him. Speaking at the Edinburgh Fringe, she said she felt she had been lied to until he pleaded guilty and that she realised she had been living with someone she did not properly know. Asked if she would visit him, she replied: “No. I'm not going to speak to him, I'm not going to visit him.”
