Job Half Done
Posted on
June 23, 2026 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Nobody’s beating this tweet today.
But as Peter Murrell begins a five-years-and-three-months prison sentence – more than we were expecting, in truth – let’s not lose sight of the key fact that the theft of hundreds of thousands of pounds of independence supporters’ money by the SNP, which accidentally exposed Murrell’s entirely separate crime of theft FROM the SNP, has still not been answered for by anyone.
Be assured, readers, that Wings won’t rest until it is.
Has there been any response from Police Scotland to your second and follow-up letter regarding the new evidence of the fraud perpetrated on members and donors to the SNP referendum campaign ‘ring-fenced’ funds as admitted by John Swinney, SNP leader and First Minister?
Only what we’ve published. Nothing from COPFS.
The fact that Murrell had cause to conspire against Salmond and lie to the Holyrood inquiry means that evidence needs to be looked at again.
Do the luxury items stolen from SNP accounts belong to the SNP?
If so did they get a six figure sum for the unused mobile home,
another six figure sum from very expensive watches, pens, etc.
Murrell had a six figure sum in his own bank if he could loan that amount to the SNP.
His SNP pension I presume would be both large and forfeited?
The man must have some mental issue if he couldn’t see that he must be caught in the end
and as questions were asked why didn’t he try to sell these things, use his savings and cash in his pension to put most of it if not all of it back.
He could well have justified the mobile home as an election battle bus for elections as most parties already use them.
Like the SNP accounts this just doesn’t add up.
It costs around £1,000 per week to keep a prisoner in Scotland so we are about to pay £273,000 to keep a quite pathetic non violent old man in a cell freed up by early release of a serial criminal.
My best guess is that he was running a version of a Ponzi scheme, where donations would come in and be siphoned off. So as long as supporters were prepared to fund the party, he could enjoy a “credit card” with, essentially, no credit limit. Then “various online blogs” started asking questions, the donations started drying up and his goose was cooked.
There is a whole lot more money missing than what he’s copped to and I don’t just mean the 60,000 not taken into account for the purposes of sentencing. Senior SNP leadership are guilty of, at best, gross incompetence and enormous hubris. They must think we are all stupid. A reckoning will come and those responsible will have to pay a price just like Peter Murrell.
If you look at sentencing guidelines for fraud you will see that the tariff usually goes as the logarithm of the amount stolen – the implication being if you’re gonna steal, you may as well steal a lot. This goes against the “legalisation of shoplifting for roadmen and people of diverse colour, because of the slave trade … ” down in flatland. But you know what I mean. Murrell nicked 20 times what McGarry did, but his sentence was only double.
5 years? – what is that in “real money”. You can get time served, suspended, automatic remission (I doubt he will be shanking other inmates while in there), also the jail and regime – he will be a category C “most harmless”; it might not be that bad, like a travelodge you cannot leave. I don’t think he will be bullied by islamists. Will he be quietly released in 2028?
I am disappointed – the record for 400K is 13 months, and I thought he could do a bit better. But I am sure social media made them all aware of being watched; there is being corrupt, obviously corrupt and being seen to be obviously corrupt – and the latter is the problem.
There was a good piece a couple of days ago showing how the investigators “bent” the entire thing to protect Sturgeon.
When you “take one for the team” you expect to be “looked after”; and I expect “secret squirrel” has a good many nuts, still stashed.
eligible for parole in 2 1/2
turned out nice again
trebles all round
will anyone touch the teflon queen?
I have to admit that I was fairly sure he’d get a light sentence, or even “time served” rather than a custodial one. Maybe he can claim to be a woman and get a transfer to a cushy option?
As for the rest of the money (he admitted to 400k, where is the other 260k?) the Polis seem to be reluctant to pursue this again, given what happened to their evidence that COPFS choose to ignore.
What prize justice in nuSNP Scotland? Apparently £260,000
£660,000
Plus compound interest, as would be expected for any “ring fenced” sum deposited or invested.
I reckon over a million. It’s the fact that no cant seems even aware of what is really missing that I find most puzzling.
It’s just yet more evidence that the Scots are not a serious people.
Mirrors and beads are our comfort zone.
Well spotted Ruglonian. ?
BBC Scotland was repeating Swinney’s stance this morning that spending the referendum fund money on general SNP stuff is okay because the SNP’s raison d’etre is the pursuit of independence. Sturgeon’s obsession with gender identity politics provides a convenient, succinct counterargument to that stance.
Let’s face it, any charity trustees playing so fast and loose with restricted funds would be banned as trustees, and potentially held personally liable for malfeasance.
Can the Electoral Commission not step in?
I’m glad to hear “Murrell’s entirely separate crime of theft FROM the SNP, has still not been answered for by anyone. Be assured, readers, that Wings won’t rest until it is.” thank god someone prepared to when other aren’t.
I donated to two funds as did my wife. For me I gave the money to Scotland yes it was to secure Independence but to steal it and purchase which I would class as junk.
Did the sentencing judge cite “colonised mindset” as a mitigating factor?
What did Fanon predict would happen?
C’moan, Alf, help us out here.
Fraud begets fraud….
In his foundational book, The Wretched of the Earth, Fanon analyzed how, following an anti-colonial struggle, true liberation is rarely achieved. Instead of dismantling oppressive systems, independence frequently results in a “fraud”. The departing colonial power simply transfers control to an opportunistic native bourgeoisie. True systemic change is abandoned, and the old colonial economic system remains in place, continuing to exploit the working class.
Seems there’s no way of winning. Alf?
“The departing colonial power simply transfers control to an opportunistic native bourgeoisie.”
So true. Burkino Faso, Niger and Mali, for example, are only now throwing off the yoke even though, ostensibly, they were freed in the 50s/60s.
If he keeps his nose clean he can expect to be sprung on…
Monday 8th January, 2029.
Bet he’s out in six months, the anti-independence Scottish establishment will see to it he’s out quicker than you think
He can’t be out in six months, earliest he’s eligible for parole is January 2029.
Interesting how the quaint old term “estranged husband” has been brought out of retirement right across the media at the same time.
WIKI profile of a founder of the SNP
link to en.wikipedia.org
Just what might he made of Motorhome Muriel?
The timing of a admission drastically alters the final prison sentence under Section 196 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.Peter Murrell pled guilty at a preliminary hearing, saving the state a massive, complex multi-week trial. Because of this early admission, Lord Young reduced his “headline” sentence from 7 years down to 5 years and 3 months (a standard 25% reduction). If Murrell had not pled guilty and had been convicted at trial, he would have received 7 years.Natalie McGarry did not initially maintain a straightforward early guilty plea. She went through a highly protracted legal battle, an initial guilty plea that she tried to withdraw, a successful appeal resulting in a retrial, and ultimately a full trial. Because she forced a full trial, she did not receive the massive sentencing discounts triggered by a clean, early guilty plea.
I read somewhere that it’s possible to claw the money back that was defrauded, but it won’t necessarily go back to the SNP. The money goes back to the British government, and any funds returned to the defrauded is at thier discretion.
Can anyone confirm this?
Sturgeon is a dead woman walking. Murrell today, Surgeon tommorow.
Sturgeon has been protected thus far. She had wortk to do taking out Alex Salmond, turning the SNP from pushing for independence.But now her utility to the Brit state has changed.
Let’s not forget there is still the potential proceedings regarding Sturgeon’s persecution and attempted ‘stitch up’ of Alex Salmond. Surely Sturgeon, Swinney, Bain, Lloyd, Murrell, and all the other liars still have a case to answer here.
I will be raising a glass of prosecco this afternoon, to celebrate the beginning of the end of NuSNP.
I thought he would play the mental health card, as he was obviously a kleptomaniac. The Treasurer, NEC and Leader should have stopped him, those that didn’t try.
The transgender card always an option.
I just cannot believe anyone would steal so much money to buy crap.
100%
It’s probably quite straightforward, keep the high maintenance wife in the manner she feels entitled to, buy all the things yer hearts desire (all with money that’s not yours) while your untouched earnings build up handsomely in the bank ie pension pot mark 2.
He’s not getting a legitimate pension of the order of the Mrs who appears only to buy books and to be kept in luxury rent free.
She made/ caused him to do it either directly, indirectly or through manipulation.
Classic Lady MacBeth syndrome..
I have mentioned it somewhere before (maybe here, maybe somewhere else) that we had a similar case in North Carolina. The Register of Deeds Office requires cash payments for certain services. For almost all her time in office, the Register snaffled much of the cash that came in. She was raised by her grandparents, who lived through the depression. She put the money in a savings account and never spent a penny. She was irrationally terrified of being poor like her grandparents. She emptied the savings account the morning she was sentenced to 5-7 years. (She served precisely five years for a bit more than Murrell stole.)
Not that I feel sorry for Murrell but I don’t buy the argument that there is nothing in mitigation. It doesn’t make sense. Even the judge noted that most of the items went unused. Is there any chance the judge is an SNP member and is royally brassed off that his donations went to things other than sort of maybe trying to achieve independence?
My understanding os that the treasurer and the accounts committee are held to a personal responsibility for the accounts.
Presumably they are now being asked to make good the deficit?
Just catching up since watching the wee sniveller being led out of court this morning.
Been busy repairing a noisy duck and re-inflating a paddling pool that hasn’t seen the light of day for (by my reckoning) over 25 years. What can I say?
I’m still intrigued by how he managed to get legal aid to support his defence. If he had that amount of liquid funds to be able to refund the fraud (as charged) does that mean he has committed ANOTHER fraud on the state by getting that legal aid through false statements?
“Ms Sturgeon finds it disgraceful and beyond outrageous that she is being asked to comment on so-called ‘background’ briefings by the Police/Crown.
“Whilst anonymous sources have desperately tried to insinuate guilt, it is clear following a two-year gold-plated and robust investigation, Ms Sturgeon was neither charged, prosecuted, nor convicted of any offence.
“Ms Sturgeon is innocent of any crime and whilst that might be a source of annoyance for some, it remains a fact that it was Mr Murrell who was charged, tried, convicted, and imprisoned for his crimes today.
“Ms Sturgeon remains angry, hurt and distressed about the devastating impact of Mr Murrell’s actions on her, his family, friends and the SNP.
“Ms Sturgeon was utterly deceived and let down by her husband whom she had trusted. Why he acted as he did will always be beyond her comprehension. She is utterly appalled that he did so and will never understand why.
“There will be no further comment.”
link to archive.ph
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The devious, canny embezzling Murrell covered his tracks so completely that he parked the Campervan outside his Mum’s house and Sturgeon never noticed it.
None so blind as those that canny see!
vMs Sturgeon was utterly deceived and let down by her husband whom she had trusted.
No need to bring up her wedding night.
I agree with C Mac Kay that he will be out within six months.
They will find a way to get him out – there must have been an arrangement to get him out quickly in return for pleading guilty to protect the biggest tractor in Scottish history who is guilty as hell.
What are the chances that he will be found to have some incurable disease and expected to live for three months?
“Be assured, readers, that Wings won’t rest until it is.”
Amen to that.
That sentence is long enough for Murrell to consider “cooperating with police”..