Peter Murrell has been jailed for spending embezzled SNP funds on luxury homeware, games and gadgets including a £3,200 coffee machine, telescope and designer umbrellas12:07, 26 May 2026Updated 11:50, 23 Jun 2026Murrell is said to have bought £60,000 worth of gifts for his estranged wife(Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire)Items from Peter Murrell’s outrageous shopping list have been pictured for the first time as the conman begins his prison stint for embezzlement.The former SNP chief executive used embezzled party cash to splash out on an array of goods, including a £3,200 luxury coffee machine, nearly £2,000 worth of umbrellas and even a copy of his estranged wife Nicola Sturgeon’s own book of speeches.Murrell, 61, has today been jailed for five years and three months after embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP to bankroll his lavish lifestyle. He served as the SNP chief executive from 2001 to 2023 while Sturgeon was Scotland’s first minister from 2014 to 2023. Their marriage ended in January 2025.Luxury purchases include a £124,000 motorhome, two Bremont watches for a total of £9,350, two Montblanc Boheme Noir fountain pens for £1,407 and a £3,500 Hamilton and Inches silver wine coaster.Among the more unusual buys was a £1,199 Celestron NexStar computerised telescope. He was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh, where Lord Young told the hearing the sentence would have been seven years if Murrell had not plead guilty.A tea set bought for £2,396(Image: Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service)Peter Murrell has been jailed for five years(Image: Police Scotland/PA Wire)Murrell also spent £3,231 on a Jura Giga 5 Cromo coffee machine and £2,618 on designer pepper and salt grinders. The catalogue of evidence, released by prosecutors, further details purchases of a £943 oak library ladder, a £625 Royal Mint silver proof coin set and a £550 Airbus model helicopter.There were also a string of smaller household purchases including two toilet seats costing nearly £70, a £60 designer bread bin, washing-up bowls, soap baskets and a Jamie Oliver wooden spoon set.The spending list suggests a taste for premium kitchen gadgets and luxury homeware. A Le Creuset wine cooler and champagne opener set, an Oxo egg poacher and almost £200 worth of cupboard organisers were on the list.Murrell also spent hundreds on personal accessories and gifts, including three designer manicure sets costing almost £294, a special edition Beatles fountain pen and rollerball set worth £1,475 and four “space pens” costing £89.A Jura Watch (£4,555.25)(Image: Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service/PA Wire)The astonishing catalog also offers insight into his entertainment tastes. Purchases include boxsets of Danish political thriller Borgen and crime drama The Killing, as well as copies of Grand Theft Auto V, Battlefield 4 and FIFA 2014. A Monopoly board game also appears on the list.Prosecutors said Murrell even bought a £22 copy of Women Hold Up Half the Sky: Selected Speeches of Nicola Sturgeon using the embezzled funds. The spending also extended to hobbies and outdoor items, including bird feeders, a weather station rain gauge, rock climbing carabiners and a bike tool kit.Other purchases include a Fortnum & Mason musical advent calendar, luxury birthday cards, Helly Hansen vests and nearly £18 worth of giant Chocolossus biscuits.A Molton Brown Rhubarb & Rose Hand Cream 40ml bought from Amazon (£10)(Image: Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service/PA Wire) A Dyson SV12 vacuum (£499.99)(Image: Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service/PA Wire)The court previously heard that Murrell used his SNP charge card, as well as those of two other staff members, to buy items.Purchases from cookware brand Le Creuset were among the red flags which alerted police to his long-running running embezzlement of the SNL’s funds, it is understood.Those include a set of measuring spoons worth £43 and a set of mugs worth £204. An £85 tea kettle from Le Creuset was also found in the now-famous motorhome which was purchased by Murrell and left at his mother’s house.Nicola Sturgeon has already stated she had “no knowledge or suspicion whatsoever that personal items had been purchased using SNP funds”.In a statement released through lawyer Aamer Anwar, the former first minister said she and Murrell had had separate bank accounts, and she had no access to his financial records.Purchases from Le Creuset raised the alarm(Image: Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service/PA Wire)”In relation to many of the items in question, for example expensive watches and games consoles, I was not aware of them having been purchased at all,” she said.Adding that she and Murrell were “both earning high salaries”, Ms Sturgeon said: “In respect of any items I was aware of Peter having purchased, I had no reason to doubt that he had used his own money.”She also stressed she was “cleared of any wrongdoing after a lengthy and thorough investigation” by Police Scotland.Sentencing, Lord Young said: “One factor in the sentence which I imposed today will be to act as a deterrent to any senior officials in other law large organisations who might be tempted to abuse their position in the way that you did.Murrell (centre) in court today(Image: PA Video/PA Wire)”I acknowledge that you’ve played an important and committed role within a very successful political party in Scotland, and the public coverage of your downfall will make future employment difficult, if not impossible. I Impose a sentence of five years, three months imprisonment. I shall backdate that sentence to the 25th of May, 2026, when you first remanded in custody.”Full list of items boughtThere were hundreds of items on the 126-page indictment, but they include:Robotic Mower (£3,070)Wine coaster (£3,500)Coronet bag from Smythson (£466.20)Le Creuset Enamel On Steel Zen Tea Kettle (£85.24, Amazon) in motorhomeAlessi teapot (£220) in motorhomeVarious items seized within motorhomeLe Creuset wine opener foil remover from (£22.05, Amazon)Le Creuset wine stopper from (£35, Amazon)Le Creuset wine stopper (£55)Wusthof shears (£62.97 Amazon)Peugeot salt and pepper mill (£31.65, Amazon)Oxo wooden spoon set from (£14.52, Amazon)Joseph Joseph tongs (£30, Amazon)5 in 1 tool (£34.95, Amazon)Joseph Joseph baking set (£21.02, Amazon)Oxo containers from (£19, Amazon)Dyson SV12 vacuum (£499.99) within Murrell’s homeDyson SV14 V11 Absolute vacuum (£599) within Murrell’s homeGillette Fusion5 ProShield Chill Razor Blades for Men, Pack of 8 Refill Blades (£24.65)HD01 Hairdryer and box (£349.99)A HD01 hairdryer and box (£349.99)(Image: Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service/PA Wire)A Wild Berry and Bramble reed diffuser refill from John Lewis (£120)(Image: Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service/PA Wire)The Crown also released Pictures of Netatmo Amazon purchases taken in Murrell’s gardenNetatmo Wireless Anemometer with wind speed and direction sensor (£77, Amazon)Netatmo Rain Gauge for Netatmo Weather Station (£59, Amazon)Netatmo Mount (£19.99, Amazon)Home library (£1,946)Garden Edger and aerator from Manufactum (£99)Montblanc Flight Bags (£400)Wild Berry and Bramble Reed Diffuser Refill from John Lewis (£120)Laser Measure (£96, Amazon)Bahco S330 Socket Set 34 Piece (£31.95, Amazon)Le Creuset Mickey Mouse Ramekins (£39)Everbuild 400ml White One Hour Decorators Flexible Caulk x 12 (£21.50, Amazon)Jura Bean to Coffee Machine in Chrome (£1,865.75)Jura coffee machine from Arredatutto (£3,231.90)Le Creuset 3-Ply Stainless Steel Non-Stick Wok with Lid (£170, Amazon)Philips Runner 4 Spot Fixture [White – Square] Adjustable Metal GU10 Light Heads (£145.18, Amazon)Montblanc rollerball pen (£515)Memo holder from Smythson (£195)Le Creuset 6 x mugs (£85)Joseph Joseph Elevate Tongs (£13)Le Creuset 8 x mugs (£204)Le Creuset Mickey Mouse ramekins (£39)(Image: Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service/PA Wire)Peugeot Saveurs salt and pepper mill (£702)Joseph Joseph 100 Collection Nest Utensils Set (£42)Joseph Joseph Uni-tool 5-in-1 Kitchen Utensil x2 (£8.80 each)Le Creuset Measuring Spoons and cups (£43)Coir mat from Make an Entrance (£102.22)Boiler cupboard (£367.22 incl delivery)Montblanc key pouch (£195)Tea set from Smythson (£2,396)Grosvenor pivot box from Smythson (£354.50)Folios x 3 from Smythson (£794)Trifold writing folder (£345) and zip folder (£435) from SmythsonMontblanc yellow gold fountain pen (£2,137)Jura Watch from CW Sellors (£4,795)Jura Watch from CW Sellors (£4,555.25)Montblanc white gold fountain pen (£4,225)Bureau (£796) from Smythson (bought alongside the tea set)Oyster jewelry box from Smythson (£2,495)Mara Bureau from Smythson (£1,681.10)Numerous Montblanc itemsPen pouch (£115)Pen pouch (£135)Pen pouch (£125)Pen pouch (£130)Rollerball pen (£395)Rollerball pen (£625)Yellow gold pen (£2,370)Rollerball pen (£635)Pens and box (£2,140)Dyson lamp bought from John Lewis (£656.94)Molton Brown Rhubarb & Rose Hand Cream 40ml from Amazon (£10)– Celestron 10169 NexStar 8SE computerised Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (£1,199). He also bought a number of accessories for the device on the same day.– The Killing seasons 1-3 on DVD (£60). The list also includes purchases of DVDs of Borgen, The Government and Sherlock Holmes.– Grand Theft Auto V for Playstation 4 (£42.99). Other gaming-related purchases on the list include Fifa 2014, Battlefield 4, and a Playstation 3 console.– Three Wusthof manicure sets (£293.70).– Joseph Joseph bread bin (£60).– The Beatles special edition fountain pen and rollerball (£1,475).– 1:30 scale model helicopter from Let’s Shop Airbus of Airbus Operations Limited (£550.59).– Two pairs of Fit Nation Socks (£11.95).– Victorinox bike tool kit (£22.41).– Two Freskaro carabiner clips and a 2win2buy rock climbing carabiner outdoor sports tool (£40.49).– Oxo Good Grips egg poacher set (£23.98).– Copy of the board game Monopoly, published by Hasbro (£19.79).– Copy of the book Women Hold Up Half the Sky: Selected Speeches of Nicola Sturgeon (£22.04).– Two Fisher bullet space pens in gift boxes and two Fischer Eclipse American technology space pens (£89.25).– Two pairs of Gold Leaf gents dry touch gloves and six bottles of Avon Skin So Soft body spray (£58.73).– Luxury handmade 90th birthday card (£5.85).– Two Smedbo Sideline design soap baskets (£116).– Oak library ladder (£943).– Jamie Oliver Acacia wooden spoon set (£14.88).– Four Simple Human kitchen cupboard cabinet organisers (£196.08).– Two Helly Hansen men’s vests (£140.49).– Le Creuset wine bottle cooler sleeve, foil remover, and champagne and sparkling wine bottle opener (£57).– Three Take the Slow Road books, covering Scotland, Wales, England and Ireland (£42.45).– 2017 United Kingdom silver proof coin set from the Royal Mint (£625).– 600g pack of Chocolossus biscuits (£17.95).– Two Ideal Standard toilet seats (£68.82).– Fortnum & Mason musical advent calendar (£150).– Two Addis washing-up bowls (£10.98).– Folio Society edition of Walter Scott’s novel Rob Roy (£307.50).– Two Feuilles pepper and salt grinders (£2,618.16).– George Foreman Flexe 26250 electric grill (£49.99).– Three Jacobi Jane bird feeders (£154.97).– Eight umbrellas (£1,990.50).The Crown said: “Many of the items purchased, particularly from Amazon, were inexpensive articles for everyday living such as cleaning products and batteries. Others were expensive items from luxury retailers.”There were a significant number of purchases of kitchenware and food/beverage related items, items for gardening, watches, clothing and leisure goods such as books, DVDs and video games and consoles.”
