Peter Murrell 7pm today BBC2

I once worked in an organisation where the CEO went to jail for fraud ( travel expenses). We all felt bitterly let down by him because of the damage he did to the organisation and the resources used in dealing with all the problems. But the price he paid was enormous. He lost his family, house, career and future and died a few months after leaving prison. He was utterly broken and whilst he was the architect of his own misfortune, I felt sad for him.

Interesting how the media deals with SOME cases!
Man steals money donated by supporters. It’s on every channel ,jokes made about it on daytime tv and his wife “suspected” of being involved.
The supporters who donated said cash say they have upped their donations even though Mr Murrell will pay back the full amount.
Then there’s SIR Jeffrey ,unionist loyalist and HIS wife BOTH. charged with 18 counts of rape including their own children
Seems the media didn’t get the memo!
Hardly anything on the news…now why is that?
Is 400k that’s NOT taxpayers money really so much more important than Sexual abuse of children in this greedy world?

What do you think there is to say about Donaldson and his wife once you have said how utterly sicking the crimes were, and asked why it wasn’t found out sooner paddyann54? It’s so horrific it’s not going to be a topic for gossip, is it? Would you want to see jokes made about that on TV?

It would be interesting to know if there was a cyclical pattern to his spending as in bipolar manic episodes.

There was plenty in the news about the NI couple. Sturgeon made a life's work of self promotion and grabbing limelight. Whatever she sobs in interviews it's important to remember that she was quite happy when those members of the finance committee resigned because they weren't allowed to see the books and that she signed them off.

Nicola didn't decide to stick by him for better or worse....

The judge briefly said he'd mentioned some personal problems. It's sort of attention seeking behaviour. Maybe, as some men do, he felt somewhat overshadowed by his wife's success.

Casdon

Buying expensive gifts for other people is something that people who are sad and lonely often do too, thinking that they will be better liked as a result. I don’t think our prison service is geared up to help people with compulsive spending related dishonesty, so he looks destined for a sad and lonely life when he is released too.

If it is through illness I feel sorry for him.

If Peter Murrell is bipolar and it’s a big if, then it’s a travesty to jail him. I hope the judge had expert medical evidence to show that Murrell isn’t bipolar.

He has said he will pay all the money back. I think he will be somewhat protected in prison. Can you imagine the relentless goading from inmates he will get. They have a duty of care towards well known people. I hope they do a full mental health assessment as there seems more to it than appears.

It's a tragedy if he is bipolar, it's a terrifying, heartbreaking condition that can come on seemingly out of the blue without warning, especially if you don't take medication, and is very traumatic to live with either as a sufferer or a loved one.

I'd read somewhere that the author Val McDermid is a friend of Nicola Sturgeon. I don't know her but she seems to be to be a robust character who wouldn't suffer fools and shysters gladly.

MT62

I think it’s some type of illness spending like that.
My friend, unhappy in her marriage spends money like water (not other people’s money), then the stuff she’s bought all sits around in carrier bags.

Oh gosh - I had a friend like that. She was married to a very clever man, had 4 children in fairly quick succession... lived in a large Victorian house. I was taking a sabbatical from work but needed some income so did cleaning jobs and ended up cleaning for her - that's how we met.

She didn't only amass uncountable carrier bags full of purchases - goods which stayed in the bags... she also dropped coins and notes all over the house. I'd vacuum and leave a little pile of coins and notes on the dining-room table. They would still be there the next time I cleaned.

A softly-spoken and gentle soul - we became friends. I eventually moved, and wonder what became of her. She had an indescribable air of quiet sadness about her and was clearly troubled in some way.

I watched the Podcast also on BBC i player, about Murrell. Very interesting. There are to be more investigations about other money transactions. Some public money that Westminster still gives to Scotland/SNP, further investigations on the accounts he controlled from the time he became CEO in 2001 and Nicola will be further scrutinised. He is paying it back and has considerable funds, which as he never seemed to spend his own money, he would have. It is reckoned when he leaves prison he will be homeless and broke. Here's hoping, if as has been alleged he was the fall guy, then those who should also have been arrested, help him out.

It’s not necessarily about Bi polar (not sure where that came into it ) but there are mental health issues that could accompany hoarding, stealing, over buying things, it’s often a compensation habit that over takes a person. If you watched some of the hoarders programmes and you will see it’s nearly always accompanied by deep sadness
I m not excusing the man he’s paying it back and paid the price with jail time but I wonder if that’s getting to the bottom of it
If it is a mental health problem he may have had no control over it
A rather sad human being I imagine

Some forms of bipolar include irrational and excessive overspending as part of the cycle of the illness. I think it happens in the manic phase.

I'm pretty sure that if there had been any hint of mental illness, then his legal team would have used that in mitigation.

Not necessarily - it would have been his choice and he may not have wanted that particular mitigation to have been used.

And his wife didn’t know or suspect a thing. Hmmm.

It does ronib and not everyone feels able to be open about if they or a family member has this illness. There's a sense of shame around it especially after a manic episode - it becomes almost impossible to acknowledge the behaviour during the episode and very, very difficult to talk about when it has passed, hence silence and misunderstanding.

I'm not saying Mr Murrell is bipolar but if it is a factor then it goes a long way to throw some light on his actions.

Exactly Tuliptree

You can be as cynical as you like nanna8 if you've never experienced it you wouldn't know.

The treatments available for bipolar can take months to work. I have always felt that families with this inherited condition are very badly let down when a parent is bipolar. It feels that society simply doesn’t care. Also it’s not a new health condition but very little research funding has gone its way.

I do hope he has a friend somewhere who has stayed in contact and will visit him in prison. I wonder what sort of friend I’d be in a situation where a good friend went to prison? It would depend on the crime I imagine but I’d like to think in this situation I’d be there for him. and as some others have said, if he has got some psychological/ mental health issues, I hope he can get some help.

I don't think he's bipolar at all. Just a shopaholic trying to compensate for something missing in his life. His brief would have mentioned mental illness in mitigation if any had been diagnosed.

Aveline

I don't think he's bipolar at all. Just a shopaholic trying to compensate for something missing in his life. His brief would have mentioned mental illness in mitigation if any had been diagnosed.

No he wouldn’t necessarily as has already been said. But we’ll probably never know and why should we?