In an emotional interview with the BBC, former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has insisted she bears no responsibility for her estranged husband Peter Murrell's embezzlement of £400,000 from the Scottish National Party (SNP). Sturgeon, who led the party from 2014 to 2023, told presenter Laura Kuenssberg that she feels as though she is "serving a sentence for a crime I did not commit."
Sturgeon, who was not charged following a police investigation, struggled to contain her tears as she recalled gifts from Murrell—including a necklace costing over £400—that were purchased with stolen party funds. She said she had no "conscious memory" of a luxury motorhome bought with embezzled money and parked at his mother's house.
"I am not responsible for the crimes that my former husband committed, and I'm not going to apologise for somebody else's crimes," she said, adding that she refuses to contribute financially to any recovery of funds, including from her marital home.
Critics, including former SNP MP Joanna Cherry, accused Sturgeon of deflecting scrutiny. "She's setting up a straw man," Cherry said. UK minister Pat McFadden called for a Holyrood inquiry, warning against a "culture of control and secrecy." Murrell pleaded guilty and faces sentencing on June 23.