FORMER SNP chief executive Peter Murrell has been sentenced to five years and three months in prison.
Murrell, the estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, last month pleaded guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP over 12 years.
The 61-year-old doctored invoices and falsified accounting records to cover up how he was misusing party funds to buy items ranging from the extravagant (such as a £3500 silver wine coaster or a £125,000 motorhome) to the mundane (such as egg poachers and toilet seats).
Murrell arrived at Edinburgh High Court on Tuesday morning in a prison van.
His lawyer John Scullion KC told the court that he wished to repay the sum embezzled, a total of £400,310.65, and had sole control over the funding necessary to do so.
Arguing for a mitigation of a sentence, Scullion said Murrell had lived in “isolation” since his guilty plea, had been “ostracised” by his former friends and colleagues, and become a “figure of public ridicule”.
The judge, Lord Young, said that Murrell had been “unable to stop” embezzling from the SNP, and his crimes only came to an end once they were discovered.
The judge added that he had not been able to "identify any factors which caused you to offend which might be considered to be mitigatory factors".
Lord Young said that Murrell would have been given seven years in prison if he had not pleaded guilty, but given the benefit to the justice system in avoiding a full trial, it was reduced to five years and three months.
Police Scotland had been investigating alleged fraud related to more than £600,000 raised by the SNP to fight a second independence referendum when they discovered Murrell’s embezzlement.
Elsewhere, confiscation proceedings in the case were postponed after advocate depute Alan Cameron KC asked the court for a 12-week delay and a first procedural hearing on September 14 .
He said the accused would be lodged to give answers in six weeks on August 3.
An SNP spokesperson said: "The Scottish National Party welcomes the sentencing of Peter Murrell today for embezzling hundreds of thousands of pounds from us.
“As chief executive, Peter Murrell was placed in a position of significant trust by the SNP, and he breached that trust in the most appalling manner.
“While Peter Murrell’s sentencing does offer significant closure for SNP members, we are still seeking recovery of the money he embezzled to allow us to spend it on the purposes for which our dedicated donors intended.
“Under the leadership of John Swinney, the party has undergone significant reform of its governance procedures. The SNP is in a healthy financial position and - as we saw in last month’s election - that is enabling us to campaign to improve the lives of the people of Scotland, and win our nation's independence."
Murrell’s guilty plea has led to intense scrutiny of his former partner Sturgeon, who has denied knowing of his crimes and said she was “deceived, misled, and betrayed”.
The former SNP leader said she had been “completely exonerated” after a “two-year-long, very forensic police investigation” which saw police officers search the Uddingston home she and Murrell had shared.
Sturgeon was arrested and questioned as part of the police investigation into the SNP’s finances, which was known as Operation Branchform, but Police Scotland confirmed she would face no action and prosecutors agreed with the decision.
