SNP told loans from Murrell should have been declared
Two loans made by former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell to his party in 2018 should have been declared earlier, the Electoral Commission has said.
However, the elections watchdog said it can only consider the matter after the conclusion of the ongoing police investigation into the SNP’S finances.
In 2018, Mr Murrell – former first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s husband – made two loans of £7,500 to the party, which have recently been published on the commission’s website. The first of these started on March 22 and the second on April 25.
They were both repaid in full shortly after, with the second one being completely repaid within two days.
The SNP has said these were “short-term loans”, but the party has not elaborated further on what they were for.
Loans to a party which total more than £7,500 in one calendar year are required to be declared.
A spokeswoman for the Electoral Commission said: “In the third quarter of 2023, the Scottish National Party reported to us two loans that Peter Murrell entered into in 2018, which should have been reported in Q2 of 2018.
“We have consulted with Police Scotland as to whether publishing this information would affect the ongoing investigation into the party’s finances. Police Scotland have confirmed that publishing it will not have any adverse impact on their investigation, which is why it has been added to our database. “We may consider the late reporting in line with our enforcement policy if appropriate once the police investigation has concluded.” The donations are separate from more than £100,000 which Mr Murrell loaned to the party in June 2021. In 2023, some of this money was still outstanding.
Scottish Conservative Party chairman Craig Hoy said: “The SNP’S finances get murkier and murkier at every turn. It is staggering that these loans should be coming to light five years after they should have been declared.
“The SNP’S toxic culture of secrecy needs to be rooted out –they must now befully trans parent about their accounts and financial arrangements.”
An SNP spokeswoman said: “Two short-term loans of £7,500 were made in March and April 2018, and each was repaid after a few days.
“While individual loans of £7,500 do not require reporting, we accept that as both loans were in the same calendar year, they should have been reported and that is what we did.”
In April last year, Mr Murrell was arrested and questioned by police, before being released without charge pending further investigation. Officers also carried out a search of his and Ms Sturgeon’s home, and party headquarters in Edinburgh, as part of the police investigation into the SNP’S finances.
Later, former party treasurer Colin Beattie and Ms Sturgeon were also arrested and questioned in relation to the probe. They were released without charge pending further investigation.
Mr Murrell has also been connected to the seizure by police of a £110,000 luxury motorhome reportedly bought as a SNP “battle bus” for the Holyrood election in 2021.
It had been parked outside the Fife home of Mr Murrell’s mother before its seizure.