LONDON (AP) — The estranged husband of former Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon created fake invoices and falsified accounting records as he embezzled more than 400,000 pounds ($540,000) from the Scottish National Party to buy hundreds of items from a luxury motorhome to Nintendo games, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, 61, rode in a prison van Tuesday to the High Court in Edinburgh, where prosecutor Alan Cameron detailed how Murrell stole cash from the party's main bank account to go on a personal spending spree.
Court papers revealed a long list of things he bought over more than a decade with the stolen funds, including two cars, a motorhome and luxury items like watches and crystal drinking glasses. But there was also a wide range of humdrum household items like gardening tools, electric toothbrushes, a bottle of super glue and shower squeegees.
Cameron said Murrell sought to dodge suspicion by giving his purchases misleading descriptions in the party finance system — for example, by recording a robotic lawnmower costing 3,070 pounds ($4,136) as spending on “legal fees.”
A look at some of the items Murrell bought with party funds according to prosecutors, by the numbers:
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Amount Murrell spent on a motorhome, which was described as a “van” in an invoice, and was never used by another party member. Police said it was only driven for four miles before it was seized.
Total spent on buying luxury leather goods and stationery from London retailer Smythson.
Amount spent on an ornate silver wine coaster, falsely described as spending on “leadership expenses.”
Amount spent on two luxury Bremont watches, recorded on accounting software as “event merchandise.”
Amount spent on two salt and pepper grinders from Lalique.
Number of purchases from Amazon that Murrell made using SNP “charge cards" at a total cost of $57,474 over 12 years, including PlayStation and Nintendo consoles, a Super Mario video game, knife sets, kitchenware and luxury Montblanc fountain pens.
Number of cars Murrell bought with party funds. He first bought a Volkswagen Golf in 2016 using $22,220 of SNP money, and later traded that car in to buy a Jaguar, claiming the expense was for staging party events. In 2021, he sold the vehicle and personally pocketed about $63,844.
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Prosecutors said Murrell was able to siphon the money because he had control over the party’s account, which held money from membership fees and donations by party members.
Murrell pleaded guilty last week to embezzlement from 2010 to 2022. Sturgeon, who led the SNP for a decade, has strenuously rejected any blame for Murrell’s crimes, and said that she was “deceived, misled and betrayed.” The pair announced last year that they were divorcing.
Sturgeon was arrested in June 2023 over the party finances investigation, and was later cleared by police.
Murrell is set to be sentenced later this month.
The SNP has led Scotland’s semiautonomous government for almost two decades while campaigning for Scotland to break away from the United Kingdom.
Jack McConnell, a former Scottish leader, said the scandal has damaged trust in politics and is an embarrassment.
McConnell, who was defeated by the SNP at an election in 2007, said the matter wasn't "just hilarious tittle-tattle here in Scotland.”
“This is embarrassing internationally for us now and we need to take it seriously," he said.
Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, center arrives at Edinburgh High Court, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Monday May 25, 2026. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)
FILE - Scotland's First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon is interviewed in Washington, May 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell arrives in a prison van at the High Court in Edinburgh for a further hearing, following his admission that he embezzled more than £400,000 from the SNP, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (Jane Barlow/PA /PA via AP)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Democrats will choose their U.S. House nominee on Tuesday in a New Jersey battleground district represented by Republican incumbent Tom Kean Jr., who's been absent from Congress for months as he deals with an unspecified medical issue.
New Jersey's 7th District, which includes suburban towns and rolling farmland — and one of President Donald Trump's golf clubs — is the state's highest-profile primary. Four Democrats are competing to take on Kean, whose aides have said he plans on seeking a third term.
Kean's absence — his last vote was in early March — has supercharged interest in the seat, which Democrats view as key to winning control of the narrowly divided House and Republicans recognize as important to defend. Voters in the district have ousted two incumbents during midterm elections over the past decade.
Trump endorsed Kean in a social media post late Monday and didn't mention his absence from Congress or his medical issue.
“A Tremendous Advocate of our America First Agenda, Tom is working tirelessly,” the president said, going on to praise Kean for his views on the border, economy and military.
Democratic voters are deciding between Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot whose background mirrors Gov. Mikie Sherrill 's; Michael Roth, a former Small Business Administration official; Tina Shah, an intensive care unit doctor; and Brian Varela, a businessman with backing from progressive groups.
The campaign has been hotly contested, with each candidate bringing in seven figures in fundraising and walking a line between appealing to the party's base and to more independent general election voters.
Bennett's campaign has come under fire from a political action committee that's spent about $650,000 in the primary, attacking her from the left. Bennett said in an interview she believes the group, whose donors haven't been disclosed, is Republican-backed and aiming to weaken her candidacy because they fear her in the general election.
The Democrats are leaning into the rising costs of groceries and gasoline caused by the Iran war and Trump's sweeping tariffs. They're casting blame at Republicans and Kean in particular, who they say is a bad fit for the district, pointing to his support for the president's signature tax cut legislation.
Kean's absence has raised eyebrows. Kean posted on X last month that he's dealing with a “personal medical issue” and is expected to return soon. His staff and political aides have declined to elaborate.
The district was redrawn after the most recent census to become more favorable to Republicans, but it's gone back and forth in recent years. Kean ousted incumbent Democrat Tom Malinowski in 2022, who defeated Republican Rep. Leonard Lance in 2018.
Also being watched Tuesday is a Republican Senate primary. The party has been adrift in New Jersey since last year, when its Trump-backed candidate for governor lost by double digits. Voters face a four-way race between attorney Justin Murphy, surgeon Robert Lebovics, Army veteran Richard Tabor and former TV reporter Alex Zdan.
The winner will face Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, who is running for a full third term.
More House seats could have noteworthy campaigns in the fall.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew is seeking a fifth term in southern New Jersey’s 2nd District. He was originally elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party during Trump's first term.
Rep. Bonnie Watson is retiring from the heavily Democratic 12th District, where a crowded primary field is vying to succeed her.
Dr. Adam Hamawy, a surgeon and Army veteran, has shot to prominence with endorsements from independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and other progressives. Some of his opponents recently began criticizing him over his connection to Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind Egyptian cleric convicted in 1995 of conspiring to blow up the United Nations and other New York-area landmarks.
Hamawy was a defense witness in the sheikh's trial but wasn’t accused of wrongdoing. He has condemned violence and distanced himself from the sheikh during the campaign. Abdel-Rahman died in federal prison in 2017.
Republicans are picking their nominee in northern New Jersey's 9th District, choosing between attorney Tiffany Burress and Clifton City Councilwoman Rosie Pino, to take on first-term Democratic Rep. Nellie Pou. Pou's margin of victory in 2024 was narrower than her long-serving predecessor, Rep. Bill Pascrell, and coincided with Trump winning a county in the district.
FILE - This photo combination shows Democrat candidates for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, from left, Rebecca Bennett, May 30, 2026, in Flemington, N.J., Brian Varela, May 30, 2026, in Sparta, N.J. and Michael Roth, May 31, 2026, in Rahway, N.J. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
FILE - In this Jan. 15, 2019, file photo, New Jersey Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr., R-Westfield, addresses reporters in Trenton, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
