Arrests, a luxury motorhome and a power couple’s fall: The inside story of SNP police probe
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.
Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell were at the top of the SNP
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.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Ms Sturgeon’s interview with Sky’s Beth Rigby
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.
Read more:
Sturgeon and Murrell: The downfall of SNP power couple in less than 150 days
Nicola Sturgeon says SNP crisis beyond her ‘worst nightmares’
Who is at the centre of the police investigation into the SNP?
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.
Police Scotland officers at the home of Ms Sturgeon and Mr Murrell
The search was part of a probe into the SNP’s funding and finances
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.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sturgeon: Last few weeks ‘very difficult’
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?
First Minister Humza Yousaf didn’t know about the SNP motorhome until he became party leader
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.
Former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie was arrested and later released as part of the police probe
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.
A controversial Israeli minister has said Gaza could be a “real estate bonanza” – and that a business plan for redeveloping it had been sent to the US president.
Bezalel Smotrich, the country’s far-right finance chief, told a Tel Aviv conference he had “started negotiations” with the US on how to share the proceeds of any future deal.
The comments echo controversial remarks by Donald Trump in February, when he said America would take over Gaza and redevelop it into the “riviera of the Middle East” – with its population going to “various domains”.
He later shared a AI-generated video showing it as a Dubai-style city, featuring exotic beaches, skyscrapers, luxury yachts and people partying.
Mr Smotrich told the urban regeneration event “there’s a business plan set by the most professional people there is and is on President Trump’s table and how this thing turns into a real estate bonanza. I’m not kidding; it pays off”.
The minister, who is sanctioned by countries including the UK, Canada and Australia, claimed discussions were already under way on how cash from redeveloping Gaza’s shattered landscape would be allocated.
Mr Smotrich said Israel had “paid a lot of money for this war, so we need to divide how we make a percentage on the land marketing later in Gaza”.
He added: “We’ve done the demolition phase, which is always the first phase of urban renewal. Now we need to build; it’s much cheaper.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Tanks roll into Gaza as Israeli offensive begins
Any effort to forcibly displace Gaza’s population for a building project would almost certainly breach the Geneva Convention and cause international outrage – as Mr Trump found when he mooted his plan earlier this year.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza ratcheted up this week as it launched a major ground offensive to seize all of Gaza City and destroy Hamas.
Thousands are heading south with whatever they can in an effort to avoid being killed in the fighting.
The operation has prompted widespread condemnation, with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper calling it “utterly reckless and appalling”.
Ms Cooper – who helped greet the pro-Israel President Trump when he landed in Britain on Tuesday – said it would “only bring more bloodshed, kill more innocent civilians & endanger the remaining hostages”.
With no sign of an imminent ceasefire in Gaza and the situation increasingly dire, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to shortly announce Britain’s recognition of a Palestinian state.
It is believed he could make the declaration at the weekend to avoid causing division on the issue while President Trump is in the country.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sky News analysis shows major escalation in war
The two leaders are holding talks today at Chequers, with the prime minister under pressure to urge Mr Trump to use his influence over Israel to rein in its new offensive.
The prime minister said in July that recognition would come unless Israel met certain conditions, including taking “substantive steps” to end the war and commit to long-term peace.
France, Canada and Australia are also set to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly next month, while Ireland, Spain and Norway all took the step last year.
Read more:
What does recognising a Palestinian state mean?
Sadiq Khan calls out Gaza ‘genocide’
Israel says the recognition of a Palestinian state is unacceptable, rewards Hamas, and makes it harder to create the conditions needed to free the remaining hostages.
More than 65,000 people in Gaza have now been killed in the war, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The figure does not specify the number of Hamas members killed.
At least 63 people were killed on Wednesday, with most of the casualties in Gaza City, local health authorities said.
The Hamas terror attack on Israel in October 2023 saw around 1,200 people killed and 251 people taken hostage. Forty-eight remain in Gaza, but fewer then half are thought to still be alive.
A report this week from a UN commission said Israel was committing genocide in Gaza – a claim the country vehemently denies as “distorted and false”.
Sky News analysis shows thousands of families remain in crowded tent camps in Gaza City, with the UN estimating last week that a million people remain there.
Israel, however, believes 40% of the population has already fled south and on Wednesday opened a new evacuation route for 48 hours.
Ukraine’s defence of the crucial city of Pokrovsk, which has held out for more than a year despite fierce Russian assaults, could be coming to an end as invading forces squeeze the resistance out.
Elsewhere, Ukraine’s troops are facing attacks along the frontline, with Moscow reportedly using a pipeline to move personnel in the northeast near Kupyansk as it seeks to create even more pressure on Kyiv’s stretched resources.
It comes after Volodymyr Zelenskyy used an exclusive interview with Sky News to call on Donald Trump to take a “clear position” on a sanctions package for Russia and security guarantees for Ukraine.
Sky News has a look at what has been happening at some key parts of the frontline.
‘Kill zone’ as around Pokrovsk
Ukrainian forces have been engaged in a bitter struggle to hold the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk for more than a year, with Russian troops at times attempting to encircle the defenders there.
The situation there is worsening, says Dr Marina Miron, an expert at the defence studies department at King’s College London.
She cited reports that Russian forces are controlling all supply routes and have “created a kill zone” using drones, making it very difficult for Ukraine to resupply its troops there.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sky’s exclusive interview with Zelenskyy: What are the key takeaways?
A road and rail node, Pokrovsk had a pre-war population of around 60,000 people. It’s viewed by Russia as “the gateway to Donetsk”.
Capturing it would severely hamper Ukrainian supply lines and endanger crucial cities like Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
“It will take time because what the Russians are trying to do essentially is to squeeze the Ukrainians out,” Dr Miron told Sky News.
“They don’t want to storm the city as it’s too difficult and too manpower intensive – assuming a lot of losses.” Instead, they are trying to surround it completely, she added.
This reflects a “changed approach”, Dr Miron says, with the Russian military appearing to favour slower encirclement operations rather than the high-casualty assault waves with which places like Bakhmut were captured.
Read more:
Romania scrambles jets after drone ‘breaches airspace’
Trump urges NATO countries to stop Russian oil purchases
Battles in the northeast
Meanwhile, Russian forces have advanced near Kupyansk in northeast Ukraine, not far from the fortress city of Kharkiv, the Institute for the Study of War thinktank reported on Monday.
Like other targets along the Ukrainian frontline, Kupyansk is a key transport and logistics hub, being the location at which several major rail lines converge.
“It seems like they are pretty close,” Dr Miron said, discussing the positions of Russian forces around Kupyansk.
The aftermath of a Russian drone attack in Kharkiv. Pic: Reuters
Earlier this week, Ukraine’s military said Russia had moved personnel to the area via a pipeline, but said the exit from the pipe is under control of Ukrainian defenders.
“A counter-sabotage operation is underway in the city, and search and strike operations are underway around the city,” the Kyiv’s General Staff said on Telegram on Saturday.
A Ukrainian gunner on the Pokrovsk defensive line fires a self-propelled howitzer towards Russian forces. Pic: Reuters
Ukrainian police try to persuade residents to evacuate Pokrovsk. Pic: Reuters
Kupyansk, which was recaptured by Ukrainian troops in their counteroffensive in autumn 2022, has been largely destroyed in the course of the war and continues to face attacks.
Dr Miron said it’s likely that the push towards Kupyansk is part of an effort by Moscow to retake some of those lost territories, or perhaps an effort to seize land that it can then use as a bargaining chip in any future negotiations.
The suspect in the Madeleine McCann case celebrated his release from prison with a fast-food breakfast of chicken nuggets and a burger.
Christian B, 49, was smuggled from a jail near Hanover, hidden in the back of his lawyer’s car and managed to avoid being filmed or pictured by scores of camera operators who had been waiting for several days.
But a photographer caught up with him as he stopped briefly at a McDonald’s restaurant.
Read more: Madeleine McCann suspect released after serving rape sentence
Christian B, who cannot be fully identified under German privacy laws, stood outside and smoked a cigarette before eating his food.
Dressed in a lilac shirt, beige trousers and trainers, he ordered chicken nuggets with sweet-and-sour sauce, a burger and a hot drink.
He wore sunglasses, but they did little to disguise the distinctive features that have appeared on TV and on the front of newspapers around the world.
After 15 minutes, he left the restaurant as police blocked the street to allow him to leave freely.
Pic: Markus Hibbeler/Bild
Pic: Markus Hibbeler/Bild
He was driven off again in the black Audi saloon in which his lawyer Friedrich Fulscher had collected him an hour earlier from Sehnde prison.
It’s not known where Christian B was headed after completing an unrelated sentence for the rape of an elderly woman, or who will help him adjust to his new life of freedom.
As part of his release conditions, he’s been fitted with an electronic ankle tag, has had to surrender his passport and register his permanent address with probation officers.
Another of his lawyers, Philipp Marquort, said: “This is an attempt by the public prosecutor’s office to keep him in a kind of pre-trial detention where they would have access to him at any time. We will not accept that.”
German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters, who leads the Madeleine investigation, believes Christian B abducted and murdered the three-year-old during a family holiday in Portugal in 2007.
The suspect, who has convictions for child sex abuse, theft, drug trafficking and forgery, denies any involvement.
Explainer: The chequered history of Christian B
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Madeleine McCann suspect released from jail
Madeleine vanished from her bed in a rented apartment as her parents and their friends dined nearby at the hotel complex in Praia da Luz.
Mr Wolters told Sky News he had “almost” enough evidence to charge the suspect, but could not justify arresting him and stopping him from being freed.
He said: “He is dangerous, a psychopath, and we hope he does not commit more crimes, but it is likely he will.”
He said he hadn’t ruled out the chance of charging Christian B: “At the moment, we still have lines of investigation we are pursuing, and we hope we may gain more evidence or indications.
“If that happens, our situation would of course improve, and we would prefer to go to court with that stronger position.”
Madeleine McCann has been missing since 2007. Pic: PA
Christian B, who flitted between Germany and Portugal, has served seven years for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Praia da Luz – two years before Madeleine vanished.
He is expected to appear in a German court next month to face a charge of using insulting behaviour towards a female prison warder. A conviction could put him back in jail.
He also faces a possible retrial after the prosecutor’s appeal against his acquittal last year on unrelated rape and child sex allegations.
Scotland Yard detectives, who failed to charge anyone in their own investigation, revealed this week they had asked Christian B to answer their questions, but he refused, as he has with their German and Portuguese colleagues.
His lawyers dismissed it as an illegal request because investigators had shared none of the prosecution files with him.
According to the prosecutor, the evidence against Christian B in the Madeleine case is circumstantial; his mobile phone was nearby her apartment at the time she vanished, he was a convicted child sex abuser, he had allegedly confessed to a friend, and he had re-registered his car the day after.
There is no forensic evidence to link the suspect to the abduction – and after 18 years, the chances of finding it must be remote.
Read more from Martin Brunt:
I was reporting during 7/7 bombings – here’s what happened
Sky News tracks down woman in hit-and-run Maddie theory
Officers describe confronting ‘coward’ Southport killer
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Different theory’ in McCann case
German criminal profiler Mark T Hofmann told Sky News: “I’m a big believer in second chances, but I’m not that much of a big believer in tenth chances.
“So if you commit a crime, and you do it again and again and again and again, then you need to ask yourself like, why should we believe that he will stop now?
“I wish, and I hope that also he realises that he can maybe now live a different life anonymously in some place, and hopefully stop committing crimes.”
Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry McCann, from Leicestershire, cling to the hope their daughter might still be found alive, in the absence of any evidence they are aware of to show she is dead.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment12 months agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024