Overview
- Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell has pleaded guilty to diverting about £400,000 from the party and is held on remand ahead of sentencing later this month.
- Police Scotland’s long Operation Branchform investigation produced the guilty plea and court accounts that say Murrell used falsified invoices and party charge cards for hundreds of personal purchases.
- The SNP’s governing body has authorised civil action and talks with HMRC as the party and prosecutors pursue confiscation and efforts to recover money taken.
- First Minister John Swinney declined to say whether he would co‑operate with a Westminster committee and his spokesman warned a Commons inquiry would duplicate the police work and damage the committee’s credibility.
- Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee is expected to consider launching its own inquiry and some SNP figures have suggested boycotting hearings, a dispute that could widen political fallout and shape public scrutiny of party controls.