Peter Murrell

Casdon

Allira

It’s also strange that one person could spend so much money without consulting others.

Astonishing in fact!
The job advert for his replacement stated the salary as £95,000 pa, a good salary, but surely a wife would notice if her husband amassed a spare £124,000 to spend on a motorhome? Added to that, tens of thousands on Amazon, B&Q, jewellery (who for) etc.?

I know some partners keep their finances separate but these are quite astonishing amounts for someone on that kind of salary.

Perhaps he won the Lottery or on the Premium Bonds 🤔

Did she know he had purchased it then? I know from the news at the time that she never went on a holiday in it, and it was never kept at their home. I expect the truth will out.

I did wonder if she knew but then Daddima said
The situation is complicated, not just a case of a motorhome appearing and the couple using it to enjoy weekends away, with Murrell saying he had bought it with his own money.
And I assume she knows more than me about it all.

Allira

^It’s also strange that one person could spend so much money without consulting others.^

Astonishing in fact!
The job advert for his replacement stated the salary as £95,000 pa, a good salary, but surely a wife would notice if her husband amassed a spare £124,000 to spend on a motorhome? Added to that, tens of thousands on Amazon, B&Q, jewellery (who for) etc.?

I know some partners keep their finances separate but these are quite astonishing amounts for someone on that kind of salary.

Perhaps he won the Lottery or on the Premium Bonds 🤔

Did she know he had purchased it then? I know from the news at the time that she never went on a holiday in it, and it was never kept at their home. I expect the truth will out.

Given that the salary is very unlikely to have been reduced this means Murrell would have been paid around the same amount.
Googling returns the following:

On a £95,000 salary, your take home pay will be £65,657.40 after tax and National Insurance. This equates to £5,471.45 per month and £1,262 ..

It’s also strange that one person could spend so much money without consulting others.

Astonishing in fact!
The job advert for his replacement stated the salary as £95,000 pa, a good salary, but surely a wife would notice if her husband amassed a spare £124,000 to spend on a motorhome? Added to that, tens of thousands on Amazon, B&Q, jewellery (who for) etc.?

I know some partners keep their finances separate but these are quite astonishing amounts for someone on that kind of salary.

Perhaps he won the Lottery or on the Premium Bonds 🤔

I would be very disappointed if it was proved that Nicola Sturgeon knew what was going on. I’m not really sure what exactly has been discovered about Murrell, and I would have expected that, as First Minister of Scotland, Nicola would have ordered a thorough investigation if she had had the slightest suspicion of wrongdoing.
The situation is complicated, not just a case of a motorhome appearing and the couple using it to enjoy weekends away, with Murrell saying he had bought it with his own money. Here is what I believed -

Motorhome in the SNP’s published accounts
•In the SNP’s 2024 financial accounts (filed with the UK’s Electoral Commission), the party reported spending around £100,790 on the motorhome. 
•The accounts also listed it as an asset, with a depreciated value of about £41,284 as of 31 December 2024 — even though it had been impounded by Police Scotland since April 2023 as part of the probe into SNP finances. 

📌 Why that’s controversial
•The vehicle was seized by police during Operation Branchform, a long-running investigation into how party funds were used, after complaints about missing referendum funds and unusual expenditures. 
•Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell is now charged with embezzlement and is accused in court documents of using party funds for personal purchases including a motorhome, and allegedly creating false documentation to disguise those transactions in the SNP’s financial records. 

In summary:
✅ The motorhome did appear in the SNP’s official accounts as an asset. 
❓ But the legitimacy of how it was paid for and recorded — which lies at the heart of the police investigation and criminal charges — is disputed and currently being examined in court.

As I understood it, there was money which was intended to fund a referendum, and if Murrell had used that to buy the motorhome, that could be seen as embezzlement. Even if that were the case, wife or no wife, Nicola Sturgeon should have known that wasn’t acceptable, and acted.
It’s also strange that one person could spend so much money without consulting others.
Time will tell.

Allira I get the feeling that SNP officials could do a Trump and still paddyann would defend, deflect or ignore. She does exhibit total, unwavering, unquestioning loyalty.

can we also turn our attention to Angela Rayner….who had a “ battle bus “ with Angela’s battle bus written large across it!

Why? It was used for what it said on the tin - campaigning.
Did Ms Rayner falsify documents to buy it?
Others may have been subjected to scrutiny:
Controversy: In April 2025, it was reported that the Electoral Commission was investigating allegations from Conservatives that 24 Labour MPs failed to declare the bus’s visits in their local election expenses.
😁
Nothing to see, move on.

What was the hidden campervan used for?
Sorry, not just a campervan - a £125,000 motorhome.

Goodness, it comes to something when I'm defending Angela so vigorously but really, there is nothing to see, nothing to compare.

Innocent until proven guilty? I won't condemn until all the facts are known.

I haven't seen Angela decked out in glittering diamonds either.

paddyanne If having a campaign bus bought during Covid ,when MP,swore being criticised daily for having meetings in public houses etc is the main concern then can we also turn our attention to Angela Rayner….who had a “ battle bus “ with Angela’s battle bus written large across it!

That would be the campaign bus aka a motorhome that was never used but parked on his mother's drive the entire time?
I wonder what the alleged cars, jewellery and B&Q purchases could have added to the campaign?

I'm no fan of Angela Rayner, but her 'battle bus' was used for its stated purpose.

Mollygo

^Murrell is innocent until proven guilty so l don't see how we can judge what Sturgeon knew until it's proven what he did, or didn't, do.^
Oh absolutely, OldFrill, but that hasn’t stopped the pre- judgements in other cases.

Like headless chickens they orgasm on their last cluck. Happy days. I'm rather perturbed Murrell's getting legal aid and the February court case has been moved from February until after the May election and from Glasgow to Edinburgh. I imagine that was Scotgov's influence.

She disassociated herself quite quickly

She consciously uncoupled.

It makes you think doesn’t it? She disassociated herself quite quickly so either she knew and was getting out pdq or she didn’t know and was disgusted to find out.

butterandjam

petra

Of course she knew 🤷‍♀️ You would be deaf dumb and blind not to question where all the goodies were coming from.

He kept the campervan parked at his mother's house. Maybe NS never noticed because she didn't get on with MIL?

Oh, I didn't know she had no contact with her mother-in-law.
That might explain it, well some of it, not all.

A significant amount of prejudgement happens before somebody is charged, or a case is not brought. Once a person is charged they become the accused.

petra

Of course she knew 🤷‍♀️ You would be deaf dumb and blind not to question where all the goodies were coming from.

He kept the campervan parked at his mother's house. Maybe NS never noticed because she didn't get on with MIL?

Murrell is innocent until proven guilty so l don't see how we can judge what Sturgeon knew until it's proven what he did, or didn't, do.
Oh absolutely, OldFrill, but that hasn’t stopped the pre- judgements in other cases.

There is a lot more information about the Epstein case already than we know about this case though. Epstein was undoubtedly a perverted creep and arch manipulator - but he kept detailed records of everything that happened, including as came to light today, video records.

Casdon

It depends what the rest of your income is though Rosie52. If you have an income of £20k it would be obvious. If you have an income of £250k it would be much less so. Millions of households have one partner who controls the money. I’m not saying she was innocent, I’m saying like so many things, people jump to conclusions when in possession of only some of the facts.

That is exactly what I said about the Trump/obama thread. We are not in possession of the full facts.

It was reputedly , a marriage of convenience for both. Blind eyes turned, etc.

It can't be coincidence that Salmond's estate is about to go into the laundry business.

The SNP accounts were not actually audited Paddyann. The finance committee all resigned as he wouldn't share the books with them and auditors wouldn't sign them off. Very suspicious and has been for years. I thought you would have known that as it was all over the news at the time

petra

Casdon

It depends what the rest of your income is though Rosie52. If you have an income of £20k it would be obvious. If you have an income of £250k it would be much less so. Millions of households have one partner who controls the money. I’m not saying she was innocent, I’m saying like so many things, people jump to conclusions when in possession of only some of the facts.

Even if the yearly income was £250,000 I would still like to know where the £110,000 motohome came from.

I would too Petra, but then I’ve always been the type who runs my own finances. I know plenty of women who don’t though, including a couple in high powered jobs, who let their husbands do it all. The jury is out.

Radio four news reported that police investigation into Nicola Sturgeon found no cause to investigate further, or to charge her.

Given the large sums of money Peter M was embezzling to but extravagant motor homes, cars etc I question what kind of relationship they shared. Rumours for years about Nicola S private life being separate from that of her husband.

I’m an independent type, when married mr I and I shared a joint account into which we both put agreed amounts from our salaries. Household bills all paid from that. Our individual bank accounts were ours. If mr I had been buying a huge motor home I’d have been curious about where the deposit and monthly payments were coming from

For most people, being shafted by a member of your 'family' however defined hurts far more than the sins of others.

If I was an SNP supporter, to think that a couple of people I had admired as leaders of a political party I supported, were all along lining their nest with my donations, wouldd cut me to the uick far more than larger frauds by people I do not know or ssupport in any way.

Casdon

It depends what the rest of your income is though Rosie52. If you have an income of £20k it would be obvious. If you have an income of £250k it would be much less so. Millions of households have one partner who controls the money. I’m not saying she was innocent, I’m saying like so many things, people jump to conclusions when in possession of only some of the facts.

Even if the yearly income was £250,000 I would still like to know where the £110,000 motohome came from.