Nicola Sturgeons husband pleads guilty.

The motorhome was never transferred to his personal ownership as I read it, it remained the property of the SNP although not all the rest of the cabinet were aware of the purchase, so if it was never used, it seems like the largest white elephant, really, really strange?

I'm not in the least sorry for Sturgeon. I'm almost more sorry for Murrell. The sheer embarrassment of living with that massive shopping list will be inescapable. Prison life won't be very comfortable for him

This appears to be the situation regarding the campervan. I wouldn’t have pleaded guilty if I was innocent of that particular crime!

Peter Murrell did not legally own the campervan; it was purchased using Scottish National Party (SNP) funds. However, court documents and his subsequent guilty plea to embezzlement at the High Court in Edinburgh revealed that he bought the vehicle for his "own personal use" and falsified documents to portray it as an SNP expense.Details of the situation include:Purchase: Murrell spent \(\pounds124,550\) of party money to purchase the Niesmann+Bischoff campervan in October 2020.Storage: The motorhome was never used by the party and was subsequently transported to and stored on the driveway of his mother's home in Dunfermline.Police Seizure: Police Scotland seized the vehicle from the driveway on April 5, 2023, as part of Operation Branchform.Conviction: In May 2026, Murrell admitted in court to embezzling more than \(\pounds400,000\) from the SNP, which included using party funds to acquire the motorhome.

Do you guess it was his plan to sell it on and take the money himself without the van ever being used then icanhandthemback? I wonder if it was easier to hide goods in the SNP accounts than to hide revenue expenditure?

Murrell sold the jaguar and pocketed the £50k+ he got for it. He could possibly have intended to do the same with the motorhome.

He went to great lengths to cover up his actions, maybe it was the "getting away with it" that was where he got his kicks rather than the actual purchasing of the goods.

Anyone else wondering whether he had some kind of shopping compulsion/ mental health issue? When he’s bought multiples of the same thing, alarm bells have started ringing in my ears.

They were the power couple of the SNP. Alex Salmond advised them it wasn't a good idea to have the party leader and the CEO of the party as part of the same family/couple.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202605/medium-1pssxp-img-4295.png https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202605/medium-7ag7pg-img-4291.png

You really have to laugh. Peter Murrell’s shopping sprees look like an upmarket version of the conveyor belt on the Generation Game - remember that?
Here's some of the thousand-poundland booty he picked up during his big spender period: a Niesmann+Bischoff motorhome using £124,550 of SNP funds and a Jaguar I-Pace with another £57,500 of the party's cash. For the home, a Jura Giga 5 Cromo coffee machine for £3,232 and a Celestron 10169 NexStar 8SE computerised Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope for £1,199. For his office, a Starwalker World Time fountain pen for £4,225 and — just for fun — a remote control model helicopter for £550
Did Nicola Sturgeon really never query the necklace, the designer handbag, the tacky but crystal salt and pepper or (wait for it) the motor home?
And who buys a fully fitted library?
If he’d been a woman I bet there would have been accusations of being a menopausal shopaholic. I think there are grounds for concern on several levels.

Apparently, when he bought the necklace she was there.

Should have said OH read it out the paper (The i).

Perhaps he is a cross dresser?

Please, no MissA, that is a truly terrifying vision you’ve conjured up!

So much supposition on this and threads on other forums, illustrating how many people get their news from Facebook etc! Of course Murrell is guilty, but so many people are determined to paint Nicola as guilty, and questioning how come she never noticed a campervan, ‘multiple’ coffee machines, Lalique salt and pepper grinders, and many more things. Now, between them their salaries were probably near £250k ( despite her having capped her salary as First Minister at 2009 levels) so his buying of expensive stuff wouldn’t necessarily be remarkable. As I understood it, the campervan was bought during Covid as some kind of campaigning vehicle, and was never ‘in her driveway’ as is often quoted. As it appeared in the accounts as an asset of the SNP, could she have thought it was a legitimate party purchase? And how do we know all the coffee machines were in her kitchen? He may have bought one for his office and one for Bute House or elsewhere. I have no idea of the truth of the matter, but I do think it’s sad that so many are so willing to believe Nicola Sturgeon must be guilty, based on what has been read on the internet.

MissAdventure

Perhaps he is a cross dresser?

Yes. That’s what I wondered myself. The clothes, the make up, the camper van, the onesie and a quick brew up of coffee afterwards maybe….

I like the way your mind thinks.
Well, not "like" as such, in -that- way.
It all adds up and makes sense to me.

Yes I agree. More to it all than meets the eye. He must have needed all that coffee to keep him alert.

He bought two hairdryers

Daddima

So much supposition on this and threads on other forums, illustrating how many people get their news from Facebook etc! Of course Murrell is guilty, but so many people are determined to paint Nicola as guilty, and questioning how come she never noticed a campervan, ‘multiple’ coffee machines, Lalique salt and pepper grinders, and many more things. Now, between them their salaries were probably near £250k ( despite her having capped her salary as First Minister at 2009 levels) so his buying of expensive stuff wouldn’t necessarily be remarkable. As I understood it, the campervan was bought during Covid as some kind of campaigning vehicle, and was never ‘in her driveway’ as is often quoted. As it appeared in the accounts as an asset of the SNP, could she have thought it was a legitimate party purchase? And how do we know all the coffee machines were in her kitchen? He may have bought one for his office and one for Bute House or elsewhere. I have no idea of the truth of the matter, but I do think it’s sad that so many are so willing to believe Nicola Sturgeon must be guilty, based on what has been read on the internet.

The problem with Sturgeon is why, when repeatedly warned by party officials about financial irregularities and the inability to access financial records, did she refuse to listen, closed down all discussion and demonised those that would not shut up.

Even if Murrell wasn't guilty her actions were inexcusable, but as he has finally come clean she owes many an apology and the electorate an explanation. Swinney is also far from unblemished as he appointed Murrell to the Chief Executive position and supported Sturgeon in silencing the dissenters. This is why there is a growing call for an enquiry.

This isn't "Facebook gossip" this is recorded fact. Had Sturgeon et al not silenced the dissenters Murrell's crimes would have been uncovered far sooner.

Nicola Sturgeon showed 'lack of curiosity' over missing funds, Cherry says - BBC News share.google/kMcCcwmAZqcIi2WR7

Aveline

He bought two hairdryers

He might have worn a wig?

Casdon

Do you guess it was his plan to sell it on and take the money himself without the van ever being used then icanhandthemback? I wonder if it was easier to hide goods in the SNP accounts than to hide revenue expenditure?

I haven’t guessed anything, the campervan was included in the charges and he pleaded guilty because he admitted it was for his own personal use and the party did not use it. That appears to be enough for an embezzlement charge and ownership doesn’t come into it. Who knows what his ultimate intentions were.

Aha! I think you're onto something there.
I've seen those ads, though of course never in the kind of things tjat I'd read!
"Sensual cross dresser, seeking companionship, maybe more, with tattooed male.
Can accommodate"

Crikey this has escalated quickly

icanhandthemback

Casdon

Do you guess it was his plan to sell it on and take the money himself without the van ever being used then icanhandthemback? I wonder if it was easier to hide goods in the SNP accounts than to hide revenue expenditure?

I haven’t guessed anything, the campervan was included in the charges and he pleaded guilty because he admitted it was for his own personal use and the party did not use it. That appears to be enough for an embezzlement charge and ownership doesn’t come into it. Who knows what his ultimate intentions were.

Okay. The ownership must be pretty important to the SNP, because as it still belongs to the party they can sell it to recoup some funds, if they haven’t already.