Peter Murrell

Peter Tierney Murrell (; born 8 December 1964) is a Scottish former political worker who served as Chief Executive of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2001 to 2023. He was married to former party leader and First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon from 2010 until their separation in January 2025. From 2010 to 2022, Murrell abused his position to embezzle over £400,000 from the SNP's funds, for which he was arrested in 2025 and imprisoned in 2026 for five years and three months. A key figure in the SNP for over twenty years, Murrell was regarded as central to the SNP's victory in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election. He came under greater scrutiny after 2015 when his wife Nicola Sturgeon became SNP leader, and his role in both the Alex Salmond sexual harassment scandal and controversial party financing led several senior party figures to call for his resignation. After being accused of giving misleading party membership figures during the 2023 Scottish National Party leadership election, Murrell resigned as chief executive in March of that year. Murrell subsequently resigned his membership of the party after being arrested as part of Operation Branchform, a major police investigation into the party's finances. He was charged with embezzlement in 2024 and subsequently convicted in 2026.