Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.Jump to contentThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleNicola Sturgeon said she had been ‘vilified’ for the actions of her former husband (Adam Tatton-Reid/Hay Festival/PA) (PA)Nicola Sturgeon has strongly refuted allegations that she suppressed concerns about the Scottish National Party's finances during her leadership, stating that many claims made about her are "not true" and promising further revelations now that she is "able to speak". Her comments follow the admission by her estranged husband, Peter Murrell, the SNP’s former chief executive, that he embezzled over £400,000 from the party across a 12-year period. Sturgeon clarified that her 2021 remarks, which critics cited as evidence of her cautioning about financial issues, were related to a police investigation into funds for a second independence referendum, not embezzlement, which she claims she only became aware of in 2023. She revealed that she has been "completely cleared and exonerated" by police, stating she was misled, deceived, and lied to by Murrell, and expressed deep personal pain over the betrayal. The former first minister conceded that retaining her then-husband as chief executive was a "misjudgement" in hindsight, but maintained that she should not be held responsible for his crimes. In fullNicola Sturgeon denies silencing SNP figures who raised doubts over financesThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

Anyone who's received a ticking off from the headmistress will know how members of the Scottish National Party's ruling NEC felt when Nicola Sturgeon ordered them to stop talking

Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.AllNewsSportCultureLifestylePeter Murrell, the former chief executive of…

Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband Peter Murrell entered a guilty plea to embezzling over £400,000 from the SNP

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Murrell has been remanded in custody after pleading guilty to embezzling more than £400,00 from SNP

Nicola Sturgeon has revealed her estranged husband Peter Murrell put her 'in considerable peril' as she vowed not to 'hide away' after the former SNP chief executive's guilty plea.

Nicola Sturgeon has said her estranged husband Peter Murrell put her in 'considerable peril' by embezzling over £400,000 from SNP accounts.

Ex-SNP leader says she has appeared on more front pages than her husband this week, adding it is not right

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Scotland’s former first minister says she did not notice luxury items turning up at her marital home or money disappearing from her party’s funds. Sean O’Grady explains why voters…

The former SNP leader was defiant as she said she was not responsible for her ex Peter Murrell's £400,000 embezzlement.

Sturgeon’s estranged husband, Peter Murrell, admitted to embezzling money from the SNP between 2010 and 2022

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Nicola Sturgeon addressed the saga after Peter Murrell, 61, who she announced her divorce from in January 2025, pleaded guilty to embezzling over £400,000 from the SNP

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s former first minister, rejects any blame for her estranged husband’s embezzlement of Scottish National Party funds.

Nicola Sturgeon has broken her silence on Peter Murrell's embezzlement conviction, saying she refuses to apologise for what another person did and that she feels punished despite…

Scotland’s former first minister paying the price for estranged husband’s embezzlement

There can be no recovery in her personal or political reputation

Scotland's former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has defended her record - after her estranged husband was convicted for embezzling more than £400,000 from the Scottish National…

Nicola Sturgeon claims she has been unfairly vilified over the £400,000 embezzled by her estranged husband from the SNP's coffers and spent on household luxuries.