Who is Peter Murrell?
Former FM Nicola Sturgeon met former SNP CEO Peter Murrell at an SNP youth camp in 1988 when she was 18 years old.
At the time she was volunteering at the constituency office of Alex Salmond in Banff and Buchan.
However, it wasn’t until 2003 that they became a couple, reportedly causing “great excitement” within the party when it became public at the 2004 SNP conference.
They were married in a private ceremony at the Òran Mór in Glasgow in 2010.
In 1999, Murrell became chief executive of the SNP and has held considerable power within the party ever since.
He has been credited with helping the party dominate Scottish politics since the SNP’s first Holyrood election win in 2007.
But his tenure, which came to an end last month amid a row over membership figures, has not been without its controversies.
Ex chief executive officer of the SNP arrested in 2023
In April 2023, Murrell was arrested and “released without charge pending further investigation” in a probe into the party’s finances.
A total of 10 uniformed officers were stationed outside of the former FM's home, with curtains and blinds drawn, on Wednesday morning. Police were later photographed searching the back garden of the home.
In the afternoon, six officers were filmed entering SNP HQ in Edinburgh as the force conducted searches in a "number of properties".
Police Scotland launched a formal investigation into the SNP's finances in July 2021, after receiving complaints about how donations were used.
The probe centres around questions over how more than £600,000 raised for independence campaigning has been spent.
Charge by Police Scotland in 2024
Murrell was arrested for a second time on April 18 amid a police probe into SNP finances before being charged with embezzlement.
In a statement released on Thursday, police said a 59-year-old man had "been charged in connection with the embezzlement of funds from the Scottish National Party.
"The man, who was arrested at 9.13am today and had previously been arrested as a suspect on 5 April, 2023, was charged at 6.35pm after further questioning by Police Scotland detectives investigating the funding and finances of the party.
"A report will be sent to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in due course.
"The man is no longer in police custody.
"The matter is active for the purposes of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 and the public are therefore advised to exercise caution if discussing it on social media".
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