The Peter Murrell scandal has intensified calls to reform the role of Scotland's most senior legal officer, with former SNP Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill demanding the separation of the Lord Advocate's dual functions as government adviser and head of prosecutions.
MacAskill spoke out after it emerged that then Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain held a phone call with First Minister John Swinney on the same day an indictment was served on Murrell in January 2025. The call also included Solicitor General Ruth Charteris KC, who has since succeeded Bain as Lord Advocate.
Disclosure of Call Raises Questions
Previously, it was revealed that Bain had emailed Swinney on the same day with “very brief” details of the indictment, but the meeting itself was not disclosed. The Crown Office has repeatedly denied that Bain had any role in the decision to prosecute Murrell or to drop an investigation into former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie.
MacAskill, who left the SNP in 2021, said: “The role of the Crown is now in the spotlight. Having the Government’s senior legal adviser as head of the prosecution service was always untenable. This confirms why the role must be split. Justice not only needs done but must be seen to be done. It’s yet another fall-out from Sturgeonism with civic institutions tarnished by authoritarian leadership.”
Lord Advocate's Dual Role Under Scrutiny
The Lord Advocate serves both as the Scottish Government's senior legal adviser and as head of the prosecution service, a unique arrangement that has drawn increasing criticism. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is among those who have called for the roles to be separated.
Murrell, 61, was sentenced last week to five years and three months after pleading guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP. The judge described the crime as “not particularly sophisticated.”
Pressure for Inquiry Mounts
The Nationalists face mounting pressure to agree to an inquiry into how their former chief executive was able to defraud the party over 12 years. Questions also persist over why the Crown Office and Police Scotland decided in 2023 to focus the Operation Branchform investigation solely on Murrell's embezzlement, dropping a probe into how the SNP spent over £600,000 in donations supposedly ring-fenced for a second independence referendum campaign.
Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour deputy leader, said: “There are already a significant number of unanswered questions about what had been disclosed to John Swinney and why, and this revelation only adds to them. If the Lord Advocate was recused from this case, it is difficult to understand why she was corresponding with the First Minister about it. It is also entirely inappropriate for the Lord Advocate to tip off the First Minister in secret phone calls. The public deserve transparency and fairness from the government and from our legal system – instead we have secrecy and attempts to shut down scrutiny. This goes to the heart of public confidence: confidence that prosecutions are handled without fear or favour; confidence that no accused person, government figure, or governing party is beyond scrutiny.”
Crown Office Denies Political Interference
A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “Professional prosecutors from COPFS and independent counsel dealt with this case without involving the Lord Advocate or Solicitor General. All Scotland's prosecutors operate independently of political influence.”
The Scottish Government has previously stated: “The role of the Lord Advocate is set out in the Scotland Act. Competently changing the various relevant provisions of the Scotland Act can currently only be done by the UK Government. The Justice Secretary raised the Scottish Government’s work on the roles with the Secretary of State for Scotland last year and would be happy to do so again.”
