Former Scottish National Party Lawmaker Urges Independent Inquiry into Embezzlement, Says Sturgeon Showed ‘Lack of Curiosity’ on Finances

Joanna Cherry, a former Scottish National Party (SNP) MP, has called for an independent inquiry into how former chief executive Peter Murrell was able to embezzle more than £400,000. Cherry also accused former first minister Nicola Sturgeon—Murrell’s estranged wife—of having demonstrated “a remarkable lack of curiosity” regarding concerns about party finances.

Cherry’s Longstanding Concerns and Alleged Obstruction

Cherry told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast that she first raised concerns in 2019 about money donated to a ring-fenced fund established by the SNP to raise funds for a second independence referendum. She stated that the fund, amounting to roughly £600,000, “appeared to have been spent on other things.” Cherry said she and several colleagues stood for election to senior SNP positions “on a specific manifesto of getting to the bottom of what had happened to that money and also improving the internal governance of the party.”

She resigned from the SNP’s ruling body in 2021 due to concerns about transparency. Cherry claimed her colleagues on the finance and audit committee found that Murrell was “refusing to show them the books,” while questions posed by the national executive committee were met with a “brick wall.” She said efforts to investigate allegations of financial mismanagement were “frustrated” by party chiefs, adding: “It wasn't just that we didn't get an answer to our questions - we were demonised for asking the questions and one by one we all resigned from the national executive committee.”

Sturgeon’s Role and Lack of Inquiry

Cherry accused former first minister Sturgeon of running the party “with a rod of iron, hand and glove with her husband,” citing “very little transparency.” She said: “There just seemed to be a remarkable lack of curiosity on the part of Nicola Sturgeon and other members of the national executive committee at that time - some of whom are now members of the Scottish Parliament and I think they have questions to answer as well.” Cherry also claimed that those who asked questions about the finances were “treated as traitors to the party.”

Sturgeon—who was arrested as part of the police investigation into SNP finances but later told she would face no further action—said she had “no knowledge or suspicion whatsoever” about Murrell’s crime. Cherry said she wants answers about why efforts to probe the financial mismanagement were obstructed “in pretty unpleasant circumstances.”

Context

The case echoes other instances of financial mismanagement in British political parties. In 2021, the Scottish Conservatives faced an internal investigation after it was revealed that a senior official had misused party funds. Additionally, the United Kingdom’s Labour Party has dealt with allegations of financial irregularities in its internal donation processes, leading to calls for greater transparency and independent oversight.