Arrests, a luxury motorhome and a power couple’s fall: The inside story of SNP police probe

Published

3 years ago

May 13, 2023

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The once “untouchable” SNP is enduring humiliation amid its biggest crisis in decades.

The governing party of Scotland has been tearing itself apart in recent months as its finances come under the spotlight.

Polls have plummeted, arrests have been made, suspects detained, and a luxury motorhome seized as a long-running police investigation picks up pace.

But what is going on?

The SNP is a powerful political operation. It is seen as the dominant face of the Scottish independence cause, and with that position comes cash.

Large numbers of people are willing to donate and become paid-up members of a party they hope and believe will deliver their dream.

The SNP, under Nicola Sturgeon’s watch, boasted of soaring membership figures. It peaked at more than 100,000 – solidifying it as the third largest in the UK.

There was a sense for a long time the SNP hierarchy was untouchable.

The Sturgeon iron-fist operation rarely led to dissent and internal squabbles never really played out in public. The first minister was known for her discipline, but some argued she ran the party on a “need to know” basis where critics who disagreed were quickly side-lined.

Salmond’s ‘wouldn’t end well’ warning

This is a tale of a political power couple. The two at the top of the SNP were married. Ms Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell was the chief executive since 1999.

Former first minister Alex Salmond told me in recent months he warned the pair that the relationship would not work professionally and wouldn’t end well.

Politically, under Ms Sturgeon and Mr Murrell, the SNP was an election-winning machine.

The pair won every election in Scotland in the 3,000 days they worked together. But they failed to achieve their main mission of securing Scotland’s independence.

Many raised concerns about too few people making all the decisions. Others questioned their strategy and what was really going on behind closed doors.

To appease the SNP faithful, Ms Sturgeon would issue a rallying cry every few years about “kick-staring” the drive towards a second referendum vote.

Where had the money had gone?

The party raised £666,953 through various appeals between 2017 and 2020, saying they would spend the funds on an indyref2 campaign.

But in the subsequent years, audited financial accounts issued via the Electoral Commission revealed a party with far less cash in the bank.

Some supporters had queries after accounts showed it had just under £97,000 in the bank at the end of 2019, and total net assets of about £272,000.

The people who had donated raised concerns about where the rest of the money had gone.

A leaked video of Ms Sturgeon taken in 2021 at a meeting of the SNP’s ruling body appears to show her warning NEC members to be “very careful” about suggesting there were “any problems” with the accounts.

In what looked like an angry exchange, she said: “There are no reasons for people to be concerned about the party’s finances, and all of us need to be careful about not suggesting that there is.”

Around the same time, the SNP’s national treasurer quit – claiming he was not given enough information to do the job.

Douglas Chapman, the MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, resigned after only being in post for a few months.

It was reported at the time that his decision to stand down was linked to a mounting row over the ringfenced independence cash.

Police received formal complaints

Transparency was clearly becoming an issue.

The situation became even more serious for the SNP around that same period when formal complaints were received by Police Scotland.

Detectives began probing fundraising and finances and launched Operation Branchform.

In June 2022, Mr Murrell provided a personal loan of £107,620 to the SNP to help with “cashflow” problems.

His wife then faced awkward questions when the news became public.

She claimed she couldn’t “recall” when she first heard about this large loan involving her partner. The first minister looked uncomfortable and attempted to swiftly move on. It was an eyebrow-raising episode.

Then came the bombshell resignation from Ms Sturgeon, who declared she no longer had the stamina to continue.

The timing took most people by surprise.

The first minister denied it was related to “short-term pressures” and within weeks began her farewell tour of the television studios, including Sky’s Beth Rigby Interviews and ITV’s Loose Women.

The SNP suffered a bruising and bitter leadership contest which became mired in mudslinging and controversy.

One of the biggest own goals was the saga surrounding the candidates not being given access to how many members were eligible to vote.

The party had previously denied a newspaper report claiming it had lost 30,000 members in recent years.

After a humiliating climbdown the SNP finally conceded the story was true. Red faces all round.

Amid growing claims of secrecy, which threatened to plunge the leadership race into chaos, Mr Murrell quit as the long-standing boss. His Saturday morning departure overshadowed his wife’s final moments in office.

In the end, Humza Yousaf narrowly defeated Kate Forbes to become Ms Sturgeon’s successor.

His premiership stalled before it even began.

It quickly became public “the Murrells” had failed to disclose to the new first minister that the party he now leads had been without auditors for its financial files. Accountants, who had worked for the SNP for a decade, quit last year.

Withholding this vital information from so many senior figures in the nationalist ranks caused further embarrassment and added fuel to the fire of “cover-up” claims.

Then came the biggest bombshell of all. Mr Murrell was arrested.

Uniformed officers swarmed the Murrell/Sturgeon house on the outskirts of Glasgow. A white evidence tent was erected on the front lawn.

Detectives released their “suspect” without charge after almost 12 hours of questions. Ms Sturgeon later described this as her “worst nightmare”.

The scenes were unthinkable just a few short months ago. The house of Scotland’s political power couple raided and searched for more than 30 hours.

The following day I, and every political journalist in Scotland, were invited to the first minister’s official residence in Edinburgh for a briefing with Mr Yousaf.

We entered the same room where Ms Sturgeon had made that infamous resignation speech a few weeks before.

This time the lectern and rows of chairs were replaced with sofas in a circle with tea, coffee and cakes at the edge of the room.

Mr Yousaf arrived, rolled up his sleeves and answered every question from reporters before camera crews were summoned to record interviews for TV, including Sky News.

This was a far cry from the Sturgeon regime and was clearly a deliberate strategy to send out a signal of resetting relations.

Over the following days, the Sunday newspapers revealed a picture of a large, luxury motorhome being seized by detectives outside of the Fife home of Mr Murrell’s 92-year-old mother. It was thought the vehicle could be worth more than £100,000.

The chaos was set to continue. What on earth did a political party need a campervan for?

I confronted Mr Yousaf about when he became aware the motorhome was an “SNP asset”.

He confirmed it was owned by the party and had been kept in the dark about it until he became leader.

It led to further questions about the extent of the police probe on the party’s finances.

The SNP accounts for 2021 include new “motor vehicles” worth £80,632 after depreciation among the party’s assets. There has been no confirmation whether this figure is a reference to the luxury campervan.

Those accounts were signed off by the national treasurer Colin Beattie.

He became the second “suspect” to be arrested by Police Scotland, two weeks after Mr Murrell.

Mr Beattie, who has overseen the SNP’s finances for almost two decades, was released without charge pending further investigations.

When questioned by reporters, the 71-year-old first said he had no knowledge of the motorhome before later clarifying he was aware.

A bizarre episode in the SNP soap opera.

Mr Yousaf is attempting to get a grip of the party’s governance, but the polls paint a grim picture for his immediate electoral fortunes.

Is that the cost of excessive control by a closed circle run by Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell? Sir Keir Starmer certainly hopes so.

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12-year-old girl from Gaza receives vital brain operation after Israeli bombing near her home

Published

10 hours ago

December 6, 2025

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12-year-old girl from Gaza receives vital brain operation after Israeli bombing near her home

The 3D picture we’re shown of Maryam’s skull shows a gaping hole.

It’s astonishing the young girl from Gaza even survived an Israeli bombing near her home.

But she’s sitting up in her hospital bed in the Jordanian capital Amman, as we look on and she’s smiling and joking during a call with her father who remains in the Palestinian territory.

“I’m okay,” she says cheerily, “how are you?”

She’s heard overnight there’s been severe flooding in Gaza and the tents and makeshift shelters which tens of thousands are living in, are now soaked and under water.

But her father is focussed on how his 12-year-old daughter is feeling ahead of yet another life-saving brain operation.

Maryam is a rarity.

She is one of a few hundred patients who’ve been allowed by the Israeli authorities to leave the Gaza Strip to receive critical medical help since the October 2025 agreement signed between Israel and Hamas, which was aimed at ending hostilities.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says they’ve identified nearly 16,000 medical cases needing urgent critical care outside Gaza.

WHO data documented a total of 217 patients who left Gaza for medical care in other countries between the dates of 13 October and 26 November 2025.

Since then, Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) has said a further 72 patients and caregivers from Gaza have departed the Israeli-occupied area for Jordan.

But behind them, they left a long queue of ill and wounded people in desperate need of the sort of specialised medical help Maryam Ibrahim is receiving in Jordan.

Having survived the bombing and having survived the craniectomy (removing her fractured skull), Maryam’s next challenge was surviving the wait to receive permission to leave Gaza for the surgery which offered her a chance of long-term survival.

She waited almost half a year for this operation: an operation considered vital.

Without it, Maryam’s brain was unprotected. Any stumble or accident risked irreversibly injuring her brain and negatively impacting her neurological functions – a risk which was considerably heightened given where she’s living.

The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) which has funded her medical care in Jordan says they’ve “witnessed at first hand the catastrophic toll of this conflict on children’s health and well-being.

“Thousands have been orphaned, maimed or left with lifelong trauma. Entire hospitals and health centres have been destroyed leaving an entire population of children without access to even the most basic medical care.”

While humanitarian organisations continue to encounter challenges in organising evacuations from Gaza, two British surgeons were amongst a group of medics refused permission by the Israeli authorities to enter the territory.

Dr Victoria Rose, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon with the IDEALS charity, told Sky News: “WHO calculated that in 2025, only 47% of emergency medical teams were granted entry to Gaza.

“This is at a time when hundreds of local doctors have been detained by the IDF with many still unaccounted for. Gaza does not have the manpower to cope with the numbers of injured.”

Maryam’s case received widespread publicity after the intervention of the popular American children’s educator and YouTuber Rachel Griffin Accurso known as “Ms Rachel”.

She highlighted her case by talking to the little girl via Instagram after Maryam posted about how she was being bullied for her unusual appearance because of her cranial injury.

Maryam’s family realise she’s been unusually fortunate to receive this specialised care, but they know too that as soon as Maryam is well enough, the little girl will be returned to Gaza and an unpredictable future.

The Israeli authorities continue to insist via X that they are helping to organise humanitarian aid into Gaza and are committed to “facilitating a humanitarian-medical response” – which includes establishing field hospitals.

They have repeatedly suggested that it is the lack of coordination on the part of various countries and organisations which is the issue – but this runs counter to what multiple humanitarian groups and individuals have experienced.

World

Young Germans react to voluntary military service plans

Published

10 hours ago

December 6, 2025

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Young Germans react to voluntary military service plans

Germany’s parliament has voted to reintroduce voluntary military service, but getting Gen Z recruits could prove tricky.

Across the country, students gathered to demonstrate against what they fear will be a return to conscription.

In Berlin, they held signs saying, “You can’t have our lives if we don’t eat your lies” and “peace is power”.

While most demonstrators were in their late teens or twenties, some parents also turned out with their younger children.

One mother held a placard declaring: “You can’t have my son”.

The new plan means from January, all 18-year-olds will be sent a questionnaire about their fitness and willingness to serve.

Men must fill it in, while for women it will be voluntary.

In the future, if the numbers of volunteers are too low, then parliament could trigger conscription at times of war or in emergencies.

It’s an idea which horrifies many in the crowd.

“None of us want to die for a country that doesn’t really care about us,” Levi tells me.

He says the government has ignored their calls for climate protections and better social conditions, so he feels no allegiance to them.

I ask: “If Germany was attacked, who do you think should defend it if Gen Z don’t want to?”

“Why don’t the people that started the war do it? I don’t see why the older people shouldn’t go to war. I mean, a lot of them already were in the army,” he replies.

17-year-old Sara agrees, declaring: “I would not be willing to die for any country.”

“I don’t think it’s right to send children or anyone against their will into the military, because war is just wrong,” she says.

“I’m never going to join the military and if Germany is attacked, I’ll just go somewhere else where there’s no war.”

While the government says the system will be voluntary for as long as possible, from 2027 all 18-year-old men will have to have a medical examination so the government can see who is fit to serve.

German defence minister Boris Pistorius says the mandatory medical is needed so that in the event of an attack, Germany would not waste time confirming “who is operationally capable as a homeland protector and who is not”.

The move is a massive cultural shift for Germany, which suspended mandatory military conscription on 1 July 2011.

“From my friends no one wants to volunteer because we don’t want to fight for a problem that’s not really ours. We didn’t start the problems, they [the government] did,” says Silas.

The change is a direct reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Despite Moscow’s denials, NATO’s chief has warned Russia could be able to attack a member country in the next four to five years.

I ask 19-year-old Lola if she’s thinks Russia is a threat?

“It could be, maybe. However, I think there are more important issues, especially like social ones, than war,” she says.

Her friend, 28-year-old Balthasar, goes further, saying: “A country being able to attack isn’t the same as a country planning to attack.

“The track record of Russia has been to attempt at least diplomatic resolution, cooperation, and I think those are the right approaches to take in international politics, opposed to sabre-rattling, which the German government has resorted to.”

The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has said he wants to build the strongest army in Europe.

Germany currently has around 184,000 soldiers and wants to boost that by over 80,000 in the next decade.

Volunteers are being offered incentives like a monthly wage of more than €2,000 (£1,750).

Despite this, a survey earlier this year found 81% of Gen Z wouldn’t fight for Germany.

In contrast, many of the older generation supported conscription.

At the Berlin protest, 17-year-old Valentin was the only person we met who reluctantly agreed to fight.

“When we are attacked, then yes [I would fight], but when we are attacking other countries, then no,” he says.

Germany isn’t the only country looking for reinforcements, last month France announced a new military service for over-18s.

Currently, 10 EU countries already have compulsory military service.

While others like Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany are opting for voluntary schemes.

The German plan still must be signed off by parliament’s upper house later this month before it’s expected to start in January.

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Giving up territory would be ‘unacceptable’, says Ukraine’s armed forces chief

Published

1 day ago

December 5, 2025

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Giving up territory would be 'unacceptable', says Ukraine's armed forces chief

It would be “unacceptable” for Ukraine to “simply give up territory” in any peace deal with Russia, the head of the Ukrainian armed forces has told Sky News.

General Oleksandr Syrskyi said a “just peace” can only be achieved if fighting is halted along current frontlines and then for negotiations to take place.

Signalling a complete lack of trust in claims by the Kremlin that it wants to end its war, he accused Vladimir Putin of using an attempt by Donald Trump to broker peace talks as “cover” while Russian troops try to capture more land by force on the battlefield.

Ukraine peace talks – latest

The rare intervention offers the clearest indication yet of the Ukrainian military’s red lines as Washington tries to negotiate a settlement that – according to an initial draft – would require Kyiv to surrender the whole of the Donbas region in the east of the country to Moscow.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, backed by the UK and other European allies, has been trying on the diplomatic front to strengthen Ukraine’s position.

But President Putin has said Russia would either seize the Donbas militarily or Ukrainian troops would have to withdraw.

Europe’s fate at stake

Speaking frankly, General Syrskyi, commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Ukraine, signalled that his country’s soldiers would fight on if diplomacy fails – and he warned that the fate of the whole of Europe is at stake.

In an exclusive interview in the basement of a building in eastern Ukraine – the location of which we are not disclosing for security reasons – he said Ukraine’s main mission “is to defend our land, our country, and our population”.

“Naturally, for us it is unacceptable to simply give up territory. What does it even mean – to hand over our land? This is precisely why we are fighting; so we do not give up our territory.”

Many troops have died fighting for Ukraine since Russia first seized the peninsula of Crimea and attacked the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which comprise the Donbas, in 2014.

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian civilians were then mobilised to fight alongside professional soldiers following Putin’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Russia well short of original goal

Nearly four years on, Russia occupies almost a fifth of Ukraine, including large parts of the Donbas, but well short of an original goal of imposing a pro-Kremlin government in Kyiv.

Asked whether the sacrifice of those people who gave their lives defending their country would be in vain if Ukraine is forced to hand over the land it still controls in the Donbas to Moscow, General Syrskyi, speaking in Ukrainian through a translator, said: “You know, I do not even allow myself to consider such a scenario.

“All wars eventually end, and of course we hope ours will end as well. And when it does, a just peace must be established.

“In my understanding, a just peace is peace without preconditions, without giving up territory. It means stopping along the current line of contact.”

The commander then broke into English to say that this means: “Stop. A ceasefire. And after that negotiations, without any conditions.”

Switching back into Ukrainian, he said: “Any other format would be an unjust peace, and for us it is unacceptable.”

Ukraine’s contingency plans

While Ukraine’s will and ability to fight are key in confronting Russia’s much larger army, so too is the supply of weapons, ammunition and other assistance from Kyiv’s allies, most significantly the US.

But, with the White House under Donald Trump, becoming less predictable, the Ukrainian military appears to be considering contingency plans in case US aid stops.

Asked whether Ukraine would be able to continue fighting if President Trump did halt support, General Syrskyi said: “We are very grateful to our American partners and all our allies who have been supporting us throughout this war with weapons and equipment.

“We hope they will continue providing full support. But we also hope that our European partners and allies, if necessary, will be ready to provide everything required for our just war against the aggressor.

“Because right now we are defending not only ourselves, but all of Europe. And it is crucial for all Europeans that we continue doing so, because if we are not here, others will be forced to fight in Europe.”

General’s assessment of fighting on ground

A decorated commander, with the call sign “snow leopard”, General Syrskyi has been conducting combat operations against Russia’s invasion for more than a decade.

He was made military chief in February 2024 after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sacked the previous top commander. General Valerii Zaluzhnyi is now Kyiv’s ambassador to London.

General Syrskyi offered his assessment of the fight on the ground, saying:

• Ukrainian troops still control the northern part of the fortress city of Pokrovsk in the Donbas and will keep battling to retake the rest of it, contrary to Russian claims to have captured what has been a key target for Moscow for the past 16 months.

• Russia is firing between 4,000 to 5,000 one-way attack drones at Ukrainian positions along the frontline every day as well as 1,500 to 2,000 drones that drop bombs. But Ukraine is firing the same volume – and even more – back. “In terms of drones, there is roughly parity. At the moment, we are deploying slightly more FPV [first person view] drones than the Russians.”

• Russia’s armed forces still have double the volume of artillery rounds of Ukraine’s, but the range and lethality of drone warfare mean it is harder to use artillery effectively. Now, 60% of strikes are carried out by drones.

• More than 710,000 Russian soldiers are deployed along a frontline that stretches some 780 miles (1,255km), with the Russian side losing around 1,000 to 1,100 soldiers a day, killed or wounded “and a majority are killed”.

The Russian army is currently “attempting to advance along virtually the entire frontline,” General Syrskyi said.

Where are the harshest battles?

The fiercest battles are around Pokrovsk, as well as the northeastern city of Kupiansk, in Kharkiv region, the Lyman area, also in the Donbas, and near a small city called Huliaipole, in the Zaporizhzhia region of southeastern Ukraine.

“The Ukrainian army is conducting a strategic defensive operation, aiming to contain the enemy’s advance, prevent them from breaking deeper, inflict maximum losses, and carry out counter-offensive actions in those sectors where we see the enemy is vulnerable,” the commander said.

“Our strategy is to exhaust the Russian army as much as possible, prevent its advance, hold our territory, while simultaneously striking the enemy in the near rear, the operational depth, and… into Russia itself, with the aim of undermining its defence capability and industrial capacity.”

He is referring to a capability Ukraine has developed to launch long-range drones, laden with explosives, deep into Russia to strike military targets as well as oil refineries.

The operation is aimed at destroying fuel for the tanks, warships and jets that are attacking Ukraine and – crucially – reducing oil revenues that help to fund Russia’s war machine.

Sea drones crash into Russia’s warships

The Ukrainian military is also deploying explosive sea drones that are smashed into Russian warships as well as tankers used to transport sanctioned Russian oil.

Asked if his forces were ready – and had sufficient manpower – to keep fighting if necessary, General Syrskyi said: “We have the resources to continue conducting military operations.”

Yet Ukraine is suffering from a shortage of troops on the frontline.

Soldiers and wider society are also exhausted and facing another winter of war.

No sign of Moscow winding down war effort

President Putin has an advantage when it comes to troop numbers and firepower over time, which makes continued support to Kyiv from its allies more vital than ever.

General Syrskyi cautioned that Moscow showed no sign of winding down its war effort despite the Russian leader telling President Trump he is prepared to negotiate.

“So we do everything so that if the enemy continues the war, and you can see that although we want peace, a fair peace, the enemy continues its offensive, using these peace talks as cover,” he said.

“There are no pauses, no delays in their operations. They keep pushing their troops forward to seize as much of our territory as possible under the cover of negotiations.”

He added: “So we are just forced to wage this war… protecting our people, our cities and towns, and our land.”

The commander said this is what motivates his soldiers.

“If we do not do this, we can see clearly what the Russian army leaves behind, only ruins, only deaths.”

As for whether the UK and other European nations should be preparing their people for the possibility of a wider war with Russia, the general said: “Of course, the armed forces of every country ensure reliable protection of their citizens, their children, and their territory.

“With the existence of aggressive states, above all the Russian Federation and its allies, this issue is extremely urgent.

“Everything must be done to ensure the capability to maintain a level of defence, and armed forces modern enough to repel aggression, both individually and in support of the allies.”