We now know that Peter #Murrell was stealing from the #SNP since at least 2010, probably earlier. We know that he proposed to, and married, Nicola #Sturgeon in 2010. So he was almost certainly stealing from the party before he married her.
Say what you will about Sturgeon, I believe that she was honestly committed to her party. I cannot believe she knew about his thefts, at least until just before she resigned.
There's something very psychologically dark and disturbing there.
@2legged My mother, who was by no means a fool, believed that prison should be abolished entirely. I think there are people so actively dangerous to others that they may need to be held securely.
#Murrell clearly isn't one of these. But in a system where the poor and powerless are often imprisoned, it would be invidious if the prosperous and powerful faced lesser punishment.
"Throughout #Murrell’s time at the top, his control was total yet trust in his stewardship was ebbing away. Trust in the SNP will not be regained by the exercise of more control...
#Swinney could surprise supporters and critics alike by acting to higher democratic standards and volunteering to submit to independent, external scrutiny" -- oor Lesley Riddoch writing in @TheNational
https://www.thenational.scot/politics/26164375.john-swinney-let-daylight-partys-inner-sanctum/
Here's Tommy Sheppard writing about the real damage that #Murrell did to the #SNP. Yes, he was a thief; but much more damaging, he built a culture of centralised control and secrecy.
Unless the #SNP makes a very thorough (and public) reform of its internal structures, it -- and the #ScottishIndependence movement -- will not recover from this.
Tommy asks how the party will regain the confidence of its members; but it also needs the confidence of its voters.
https://www.thenational.scot/politics/26153791.snp-nec-went-wrong-party/
Former First Minister Urges Joint Inquiry into Peter Murrell's Embezzlement
📰 Original title: Call for Holyrood and Westminster to hold joint inquiry into Murrell crimes
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Former Labour First Minister Jack McConnell has called for a joint inquiry by the UK and Scottish parliaments into financial crimes committed by Peter Murrell, ex-SNP chief executive and estranged husband of Nicola Sturgeon. Murrell admitted embezzling over £400,000 from the party over a 12-year period. McConnell argued that a joint investigation would avoid perceptions of either a cover-up by Holyrood or a political attack by Westminster. He suggested the inquiry examine the relationship between Scotland's prosecution service and government, as well as potential misuse of public funds and the need for improved safeguards for small political donors. Concerns have been raised over Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain sharing information about Murrell's charges with First Minister John Swinney months before the public announcement. Sturgeon and Swinney have denied any involvement or knowledge of Murrell's wrongdoing, emphasising that the police investigation was thorough and independent. Critics point to past resignations within the SNP over transparency issues, while Sturgeon insists that the party accounts showed no signs of wrongdoing. The call for an inquiry remains contentious, with practical implementation unclear given the lack of precedent for a joint parliamentary investigation in Scotland. Murrell is expected to be sentenced later this month.
I'm also fascinated by the psychology of giving your wife an apparently thoughtful — even romantic — gift bought with money stolen from the party she'd dedicated her life to. Particularly as he could DEFINITELY have afforded that particular gift out of his own earnings. It feels to me that there's something very dark and manipulative going on there.
The wonderful Andrew Tickell (aka #PeatWorrier) has some thoughts on the #PeterMurrell saga, at https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/2059373652961878261.html
I was particularly struck by his comments on the tackiness of some of #Murrell's purchases. Even in Scotland, British class sensibilities problematise such spending from every angle.
I think of a late friend's Scots uber-aristo granny reportedly speaking in the 1950s of "the middle classes — the sort of people who own fish knives".
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