Sturgeon hasn't spoken to Murrell since he was jailed for embezzling SNP funds

Nicola Sturgeon has revealed she has had no contact with her estranged husband, Peter Murrell, since his jailing for embezzling more than £400,000 from the Scottish National Party. Murrell, 61, was the SNP's chief executive when he committed the crimes, which included using party funds to buy a luxury motorhome and numerous high-end goods.

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No. I'm not going to speak to him, I'm not going to visit him.

Speaking at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Sturgeon stated she would not visit Murrell in prison and admitted to feeling like a "mug" for continuing to care about him. She asserted she had no knowledge of his crimes and was only learning about the extent of his actions, including specific purchases, as he entered his guilty plea. "Over the years, he never really levelled with me," Sturgeon told broadcaster Iain Dale. "The day he pled guilty, I was still learning about some of the detail of what he had done for the first time."

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Over the years, he never really levelled with me.

Murrell admitted to embezzling £400,310.65 between August 2010 and October 2022. His most significant purchase was a £124,500 motorhome, bought entirely with SNP funds in 2020, which had only been driven four miles by the time it was seized by police. The SNP has since written off the cost of this vehicle. Other extravagant purchases included a £3,223 coffee machine, a £3,000 robotic lawn mower, and £2,600 salt and pepper grinders.

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The day he pled guilty, I was still learning about some of the detail of what he had done for the first time.

Sturgeon also disclosed that she was only informed of Murrell's impending guilty plea a week before he appeared in court. This revelation came as a shock, especially as it later emerged he had been negotiating his plea for months. "He was still lying to me right up until the last moment," she said, describing the news as hitting her "like a tonne of bricks." The former First Minister reflected on the difficulty of realizing she had been living with someone she did not truly know, a process she and her family are still coming to terms with.

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I suddenly realised I had been living with somebody that I never really knew properly.