Prosecutors have released images showing the staggering £24,000 haul of Montblanc pens purchased by former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, who was jailed today for embezzling more than £400,000 from the party over 12 years.
Luxury Items Funded by Embezzled Cash
Murrell used the stolen money to buy a range of high-end goods, including cars, coffee machines, jewellery, cosmetics, and gardening equipment. But his passion for Montblanc pens was particularly notable, with the German brand's products accounting for £24,000 of his spending.
Among the most expensive items was a Montblanc Starwalker World Time fountain pen, valued at £4,225. Other four-figure purchases included a Meisterstück moon pearl fountain pen (£2,125) and a Masters for Meisterstück Firenze Alliga pen (£2,370).
Connection to Nicola Sturgeon
The pens also drew attention to Murrell's estranged wife, former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who was seen using Montblanc pens in the Scottish Parliament in 2022. At the time, her spokesman said they were "gifts from a relative." However, prosecutors later confirmed that two of the pens Sturgeon used were the same models bought by Murrell.
Scottish Conservatives leader Russell Findlay said: "Four years ago, a constituent alerted me to Nicola Sturgeon's expensive Montblanc pens because of his anger at the SNP's broken promise of free laptops for children. ... Sturgeon has a duty to do the right thing and come clean. Were her Montblancs bought with cash stolen from SNP members?"
Full List of Montblanc Purchases
The Crown Office provided a detailed breakdown of Murrell's Montblanc spending from 2016 to 2021:
2016: Sartorial cuff links (£215), urban spirit coin purse (£175), rollerball refills (£14.90), Meisterstück moon pearl LeGrand fountain pen (£2,125), ink bottle (£12), money clip (£195), Meisterstück soft grain trifold (£155), Iconic cuff links (£195), Meisterstück iPhone 6s Plus flipside cover (£130), Meister iPhone 6s Plus hard-shell cover (£80), Meisterstück cuff links (£325), Knot cuff links (£230), John F. Kennedy special edition fountain pen (£710), John F. Kennedy special edition rollerball (£605), Meisterstück selection 1 pen pouch (£120), Meisterstück selection 1 pen pouch with clasp (£110), Meisterstück solitaire doué blue hour pen (£625), Meisterstück ultra black classique roll pen (£395), sartorial pen pouch hard shell (£130 and £115), rollerball refills (£11 each).
2017: Masters for Meisterstück Firenze Alliga pen (£2,370), Westside key case (£155), Westside one pen pouch (£110), Starwalker world time fountain pen (£4,225), Meisterstück 1 pen pouch with zip (£135), ink bottle (£13), sartorial pen pouch small (£125), Flipside case for iPhone 7 Plus (£145), Hardphone case for iPhone 7 Plus (£80), nightflight liquid flight bags (£50 each).
2018: Starwalker ultra black fountain pen (£545), Boheme black fountain pen (£608.90), Boheme Noir fountain pen (£708.90), two Boheme Noir fountain pens (£1,407.90).
2019: Meisterstück Unicef doué classique rollerball pastel blue (£635), rollerball refills (£13), five My Montblanc nightflight liquid flight bags (£400), Great Characters The Beatles special edition rollerball (£685), rollerball refills (£13), ink bottle midnight blue (£18), Great Characters The Beatles special edition fountain pen (£790).
2020: Travel wallet (£470).
2021: Solitaire doué blue hour classique rollerball pen (£690), Soft grain key pouch (£195), Soft grain 12-pen pouch (£420), Around the World in 80 Days rollerball pen (£515), nine two-refill packs for rollerball pen (£126).
