Sturgeon says she was deceived, betrayed and lied to over Murrell embezzlement

Nicola Sturgeon said she was deceived, betrayed, and lied to by her estranged husband Peter Murrell after he embezzled hundreds of thousands of pounds from the SNP. Murrell pleaded guilty and admitted embezzling 400,310.65 between 12 August 2010 and 19 October 2022. Sturgeon said she was coming to terms with being married to someone she did not know at all, and she has consistently denied any knowledge of the crimes. She appeared publicly in Ireland to promote her memoir and described the week and the day of her arrest as the worst in her life. She said police questioned her during the investigation but she was released without charge and later told she was no longer under investigation.

"Nicola Sturgeon has said she was "deceived, betrayed and lied to" by her estranged husband Peter Murrell as he embezzled hundreds of thousands of pounds from the SNP. The former first minister told an audience at her first public appearance since Murrell pleaded guilty that she was coming to terms with being married to someone she "did not know at all"."

"Murrell admitted embezzling 400,310.65 from the SNP between 12 August 2010 and 19 October 2022 at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday. Sturgeon, who is in Ireland to promote her memoir, has consistently denied any knowledge of Murrell's crimes and was not charged after a police investigation. He was remanded in custody following the plea and could face a lengthy prison term when he is sentenced on 23 June."

"Sturgeon appeared at a writers' event in Listowel, County Kerry, in conversation with author Andrew O'Hagan to promote her memoir, Frankly. She told the audience it had been the "worst week of her life," adding she had dealt with the fallout from Murrell's plea in the public gaze. She previously described the day she was arrested as part of Operation Branchform as the "worst day of her life"."

"Sturgeon said: "This is not a private thing. I've been subject over the past two years to police investigation. "At the end I was cleared, but people point the finger at me for someone else's crimes.""

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