'No evidence' Peter Murrell stole public money, watchdogs tell Scottish Labour MP

THERE is “no reason to believe” weaknesses in the system may have allowed Peter Murrell to embezzle public money and “no evidence” he did so, two public bodies have told a Westminster committee. Both the House of Commons and the Electoral Commission responded to inquiries from the Scottish Affairs Committee – which has been floating the idea of an investigation into the SNP’s finances – with letters saying that they did not think that Murrell stole taxpayer cash. The former SNP chief executive last month pleaded guilty to embezzling around £400,000 from the party over a 12-year period from 2010 to 2022. Opposition parties have since called for a parliamentary probe into the embezzlement, claiming that the funding Murrell stole could have been public funding. As SNP chief executive, Murrell may have had access to “short money” – which is paid by the House of Commons to political parties for outgoings such as staff and policy research – or grants from the Electoral Commission. Patricia Ferguson, the Labour MP who chairs the Scottish Affairs Committee, wrote to both – and was told twice that Murrell did not appear to have misused public funding. “I can confirm that, until the recent events which have prompted your inquiry, no concerns had been raised with me,” House of Commons clerk Tom Goldsmith wrote to Ferguson. He went on: “Since the investigation into, and trial of, Peter Murrell, the House authorities have received a number of non-specific media enquiries on this issue, as well as your letter. The relevant colleagues I have consulted are not aware of other substantial concerns having been raised in recent years. “In light of that, I have no reason to believe there are systemic weaknesses with the system.” John Pullinger, the chair of the Electoral Commission, said in his letter to Ferguson: “Between 2010 and 2022, the Scottish National Party received £2,248,353 in policy development grants … For the years they were in receipt of monies, the Scottish National Party provided reports to the Commission on their use of the policy development grants, which were independently audited.” READ MORE: Andy Burnham says 'Holyrood is as distant as Westminster'. The data shows he's wrong “The evidence shows that the party spent its policy development grants on eligible costs, mostly staff salaries, which we can see were paid,” he said. “We have seen no evidence of misuse of policy development grant funds by the SNP in our annual compliance checks.” Pullinger added: “We are currently working with the SNP to review any past accounts, declarations or disclosures, following the conviction of Peter Murrell. If there is evidence of any misuse, the Commission will take appropriate action to safeguard public money.” Last month, police told journalists that although all funding – public or private – was mixed into a single pot in the SNP’s main bank account, officers were satisfied that public money had been spent as it should have been, meaning Murrell embezzled SNP members’ money. The former SNP chief executive is expected to offer to repay the funds in full at a hearing later in 2026. However, the Scottish Affairs Committee is still looking to move ahead with an investigation into the SNP’s finances, with the BBC reporting that it will write to “relevant Scottish Parliament committees" offering to open a joint probe. Previously, the SNP’s Westminster leader Dave Doogan dismissed calls for an inquiry into his party, saying it would “be an unprecedented abuse of the House of Commons committee system – and a complete waste of taxpayers' money”. Doogan added that if a “blatantly partisan inquiry” did take place, it would “create a dangerous precedent for investigating rival political parties that a Nigel Farage government will ruthlessly exploit”. Last month, a Scottish Labour bid to force a Holyrood inquiry into the SNP failed, with MSPs instead backing a wide-ranging probe into the funding of all political parties. Murrell was sentenced to five years and three months in jail for his crimes.