Overview
- The former SNP chief executive admitted taking about £400,000 from party funds and was sentenced to five years and three months in late June; his lawyers have confirmed he will not appeal.
- Prosecutors told the court that Murrell hid the thefts with fake invoices and misleading account codes and used party cards to buy hundreds of items including a £124,550 motorhome, cars and jewellery.
- Murrell is serving his sentence at HMP Dumfries and a Proceeds of Crime hearing to calculate recoverable funds is scheduled for September, with some pension and property assets currently frozen.
- The SNP has authorised lawyers to pursue compensation and civil recovery, a process legal experts say could take years and may not reclaim all purchases without separate court actions.
- Nicola Sturgeon remains uncharged but is under fresh political pressure after being photographed in London, with opponents calling for her written police statement to be published and for parliamentary scrutiny.