We received two emails today, just a few minutes apart. There are a couple of notable things about them. The first came from Claire Somebody at the Crown Office.
The second one, even more thrillingly, came from Service Advisor 1989847 at Police Scotland, which we assume is some sort of advanced crime-fighting robot.
In one of those emails, readers, is a three-word phrase that raised our eyebrows just about right off our heads. Before we chat any more, see if it jumps out at you too.
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
25 Chambers Street
Edinburgh
EH1 1LA
4 June 2026
.
Dear Chief Constable and Crown Office,
RE: REQUEST FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION — ALLEGED
MISAPPROPRIATION OF RING-FENCED POLITICAL DONATIONS
I write to request that Police Scotland/COPFS open a criminal investigation into the alleged misappropriation of funds donated to the Scottish National Party (SNP) on the basis that those funds would be held and applied for a specific, designated purpose.
If you subscribe to the theory that it’s better to fight 100 duck-sized horses than a single horse-sized duck, the SNP is knocking it out of the park today.
Because the papers just can’t make their minds up about the biggest story with which to attack John Swinney’s beleaguered party.
On Sunday, Nicola Sturgeon told Laura Kuenssberg that the SNP’s accounts “went up and down” as her excuse for not noticing that hundreds of thousands of pounds had suddenly vanished from them overnight.
Several things leap out immediately from that clip.
One, there absolutely very much WAS “something glaringly suspicious in the accounts that I should have seen” – the party she led had raised almost £700,000 in two “ring-fenced” fundraisers that wasn’t there any more, which ought to have made its leader at least mildly curious.
And two, attempting to fob responsibility off onto the independent auditors simply won’t wash. It’s not their job to determine whether the SNP has kept its political promises or not, their job is simply to match up money coming in against money going out and produce a set of numbers to show what it all adds up to. It makes no odds to them if it was spent on a party conference, a fancy motorhome or a 50-foot golden statue of Danny La Rue. All they can see is numbers.
But even leaving those things aside, if we’re going to learn anything about how The Great Indyref Swindle got to this calamitous point unchecked we need to examine just how hard Nicola Sturgeon had to look the other way to fail to see what was going on literally under her nose and literally in her own back yard.
To tell you the truth, readers, we’re suffering from a little bit of option paralysis at the moment, although happily not in the same way Peter Murrell is.
The endless torrent of revelations following on from Murrell’s conviction a week ago isn’t just fascinating in its own right – it also forces numerous historical issues to be seen in a new light. At any given second there are half-a-dozen different articles we could be writing, but also so many to read that it’s hard to find the time.
We suspect this matter is going to run and run all through the summer silly season because there are simply so many angles and so many unanswered questions.
Sadly, this turned out to be prescient this morning.
Laura Kuenssberg did give Nicola Sturgeon an uncomfortable time in their interview on her Sunday programme on BBC News, but when confronted with the one gaping open goal that Sturgeon has no answer for – and even when Sturgeon TWICE set it up on a plate for her – Kuenssberg failed to knock the ball into the empty net.
That doesn’t – by some distance – mean there was nothing of interest to note, though, so let’s take a walk through (the first instalment of) what was said.
We’ll be honest with you, readers, if we were in a situation where a lawyer was issuing statements for us, this isn’t what we’d want to hear.
“If my client had been charged, she’d be in prison right now” is a worrying distance short of a vote of confidence in your client’s innocence.
But the statement Aamer Anwar put out for Nicola Sturgeon last night – her FOURTH in 48 hours, despite saying on Monday morning that she’d be making no further comment on the Peter Murrell case – had rather more wrong with it than even that.
So, having made a statement on Monday morning which asserted that she wouldn’t make any further statements, then making another statement on Monday afternoon, Nicola Sturgeon and her solicitor issued a third statement in 36 hours last night.
And while we acknowledge that this is a very high bar to clear, it contained one of the most troubling and blatant lies she’s ever told.
And as the Nicola Sturgeon Loyal, led by her most faithful of lieutenants, set out to try to take control of the post-conviction narrative, let’s take a look at just what a boatload of bare-faced bullshit the above is.
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “Auf Wiedersehen, Pet Who would have thought a perfume salesman would change German history. It is the end of the…” Sep 6, 18:51
sam on Anything But That: “Usually I scroll past much of what is btl comment regarding it as shite. A good deal of that shite…” Sep 6, 18:49
Young Lochinvar on Anything But That: “Missing person appeal! Will the real Northcode come forward please, his account here has clearly been hacked and it appears…” Sep 6, 18:36
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “Salmond new how difficult the task to unite Scotland internally would be. Everybody was on board on the anti English…” Sep 6, 18:23
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “Well said Northy. Better late than never, about Ten years late, but none the less. Seriously! That is something that…” Sep 6, 18:12
Young Lochinvar on Anything But That: “NC Stopped reading at “the UK constitution is recognised by the UK Supreme Court”. Kind of says it all really..” Sep 6, 18:02
TURABDIN on Anything But That: “Strategy and a preternatural understanding of the opponent. WOW….if only.” Sep 6, 17:59
factchecker on Anything But That: “Just repeating this because it’s the best summary I’ve seen in years. Well done, Northy. “Independence requires maturity, realism, and…” Sep 6, 17:09
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “sam likes to present ideas as evidence and conjecture as fact. He never quotes any source until he’s satisfied its…” Sep 6, 16:52
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “” That is the opinion at least of the European Journal of International Law.” Who cares? You still do not…” Sep 6, 16:49
TURABDIN on Anything But That: “IN THE IDEALIST’S UNIVERSE MAYBE. In the messy actuality any minority within a larger state cannot rely on the principle…” Sep 6, 16:47
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “I don’t know how you’re doing this, Northy, and I don’t care that much. Just stop reading my mind.” Sep 6, 16:35
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “The starship to Alpha Centauri left without him. The next one’s not due for 500 years. So he has no…” Sep 6, 16:27
Northcode on Anything But That: ““I think your final paragraph needs to be amended…” No – it doesn’t. Read it again.” Sep 6, 16:03
Northcode on Anything But That: “I support Scottish independence, but I’ve grown weary of the flawed rhetoric deployed in its name. When a movement clings…” Sep 6, 15:50
sam on Anything But That: “I think your final paragraph needs to be amended. Scottish people need to be able to hold a referendum at…” Sep 6, 15:46
Northcode on Anything But That: ““The UK Constitution…A bit of a myth that, point me to the stirring single document…” I’m not sure of the…” Sep 6, 15:44
Young Lochinvar on Anything But That: “B Top ten in spending on military eh? I wonder how much of that is spent on the money-pit “nuclear…” Sep 6, 15:31
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “The UN is the record keeper of war. They list the conflicts in the world, keep records, take statements, give…” Sep 6, 15:17
Young Lochinvar on Anything But That: “NC The UK Constitution.. A bit of a myth that, point me to the stirring single document will you? I’d…” Sep 6, 14:59
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “Any relation to Darius the Great? “subjugated Thrace and forced Macedon to become a fully subordinate client kingdom within the…” Sep 6, 14:59
agentx on Anything But That: “Ultimately, while pro-independence groups look to the UN Charter as an overarching moral and political justification for independence, the UN’s…” Sep 6, 14:11
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “Shut up and eat your Lembas bread. You pointy eared trouble maker.” Sep 6, 14:00
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “I thought it would be obvious. He has the woke disease. The symptoms can be quite easy to spot; Constant…” Sep 6, 13:57
Insider on Anything But That: “Bloody hell, Northy ! You’re beginning to talk sense for a change ! What happened to you ?” Sep 6, 12:57
Captain Caveman on Anything But That: “So it’s true then: Alf’s much-vaunted UN delusion will achieve… … “Hee-Haw”, to coin a phrase. I’m sure much of…” Sep 6, 12:57
sam on Anything But That: “The Convention declaration does not change the legal position. The claim of right was debated in the HoC and Sec…” Sep 6, 12:36
Northcode on Anything But That: “For those who might have fallen under the delusion that the United Nations is planning to liberate the Scots from…” Sep 6, 12:27
James Che on Anything But That: “Bilbo, Without a active 1707 treaty between Scotland and England, Scotland is not in a national debt situation with the…” Sep 6, 12:25
