John Swinney blasted for trying to 'dodge scrutiny' after ruling out further SNP finance probe

By TOM GORDON, SCOTTISH DAILY MAIL DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 21:43, 27 May 2026 | Updated: 21:46, 27 May 2026 John Swinney has been blasted for trying to ‘dodge scrutiny’ after ruling out any further probe into the SNP’s financial scandal. He insisted the police investigation into Peter Murrell was enough, despite the party hierarchy being accused of shutting down questions about Nicola Sturgeon’s husband. ‘What more do we need to look into?’ he said of the £400,000 crime spree which has shattered the Nationalists. The First Minister was accused of trying to sweep the ‘murky affair’ under the carpet amid growing calls for an independent inquiry. Murrell managed to embezzle party funds over 12 years as party chief executive, blowing the cash on a lavish lifestyle than included a £124,000 campervan, £2,600 Lalique salt and pepper grinders, and watches and Montblanc pens worth thousands of pounds each. He was married to Ms Sturgeon when the breach of trust took place between 2010 and 2022, and she was party leader for eight of those years. Scottish Labour demanded a parliamentary probe with the power to question witnesses under oath. Deputy leader dame Jackie Baillie said it should look at the actions of the police, prosecutors and ‘senior SNP figures’. A past inquiry into the SNP Government’s handling of sexual harassment complaints against Alex Salmond saw him, Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon all grilled under oath by MSPs. The call coincided with former cabinet secretary Alex Neil warning the SNP faced a donations drought unless an independent query convinced supporters their money was safe. First Minister John Swinney has been criticised for ruling out a probe Dame Jackie said Mr Swinney, who appointed Murrell as SNP chief executive more than 20 years ago, had a ‘moral obligation’ to say what he knew and when. Although it will be for the parliament to decide whether to hold an inquiry, Mr Swinney was quick to rubbish the idea, saying he did not think it ‘appropriate’. In a letter to fellow MSPs, Dame Jackie said it was wrong for Mr Swinney to have already ruled out an SNP investigation this week, so it was left to parliament to get to the truth. She said: ‘It is simply not good enough for him to turn a blind eye to this wrongdoing and refuse to investigate why this was allowed to happen within the SNP. ‘Nicola Sturgeon even told SNP members not to question the party’s finances. ‘We cannot be in a situation where the SNP is allowed to mark its own homework or kick the can down the road. ‘The public will rightly ask whether a leader and a party that cannot keep its own finances in order can be trusted to manage the finances of the country.’ She said there were ‘serious questions’ about why Operation Branchform took almost four years, why the Crown Office tipped off Mr Swinney about Ms Sturgeon not being charged, and why Murrell’s court appearance was delayed until after the Holyrood election. John Swinney and the SNP have come under pressure since Peter Murrell's pleaded guilty Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay added: ‘My party called for a parliamentary inquiry into this scandal three years ago, but this was rejected because the SNP is scared of scrutiny. ‘We support this fresh call for a Holyrood inquiry but fully expect the SNP to block it. ‘I’m working with my team MSPs and MPs to ensure maximum transparency is applied in order to restore public faith in Scotland’s justice system.’ Murrell, 61, pleaded guilty on Monday to embezzlement and was placed on remand pending his sentencing next month. Former FM Humza Yousaf, whose 14 months in Bute House were over-shadowed by the scandal, yesterday said Murrell deserved a ‘hefty’ jail term for his betrayal. Senior SNP members claim valid concerns about the party finances in 2021, shortly before the police launched their investigation, were shut down by Ms Sturgeon and her allies. Kirsten Oswald, then chair of the SNP’s ruling National Executive Committee, and now Minister for Victims, was singled out by former SNP MP Joanna Cherry, KC, and others for having suppressed questions that came too close to Scotland’s power couple. Ms Sturgeon also told the NEC the party’s finances had ‘never been in a stronger financial position’ five years ago, and warned colleagues: ‘Just be very careful about suggestions that there are problems with the party’s finances because we depend on donors’. Ms Sturgeon has denied knowing anything of her husband’s crimes despite a stream of luxury goods being delivered to their marital home near Uddingston. On a visit to a construction site in East Lothian, Mr Swinney tetchily rejected the idea of a parliamentary inquiry. Asked if he would be willing to appear alongside Ms Sturgeon and others at one, he said: ‘I do not think there’s the need for a Holyrood inquiry. There’s been a police inquiry. What more do we need to look into? ‘There has been criminality involved here, and that criminality has been addressed in the courts. ‘So I do not think it’s appropriate for there to be a Holyrood inquiry, because what [more] can a Holyrood inquiry do that a detailed police investigation has just done?’ Pressed on concerns being shut down by the SNP, he went on: ‘We have all the answers to those questions. There was criminality, the rules were bypassed, that’s the answer to the question. There was criminality of a very serious nature.’ In response, Dame Jackie said: ‘This scandal goes to the very top of the Scottish Government and the SNP cannot sweep it under the carpet. ‘It is not a good look for John Swinney to try and dodge scrutiny on this murky affair. ‘We still need to know how this was allowed to happen, why those sounding the alarm about the state of the SNP’s finances were shut down by the party machine, why John Swinney personally dismissed concerns, and what role the Victims Minister Kirsten Oswald played. ‘This shameful episode has undermined trust in public institutions and exposed a culture of cover-up and secrecy at the heart of the SNP. ‘If John Swinney has nothing to hide, he should prove it by agreeing to a Parliamentary Inquiry and giving Scots the answers they deserve.’ Mr Neil, who was health secretary under Mr Salmond, told BBC Radio Scotland the SNP should order its own independent inquiry by a KC or watch donors turn away. He said: ‘The SNP has to hold an independent inquiry held by a senior KC starting with an audit of the current governing processes within the SNP, and how the money is managed. ‘We were being told by Nicola Sturgeon and others for the last 20 years that the SNP finances were fine. ‘While she was saying that her husband was dipping into the till to a huge extent, so assurances from the current leadership isn’t enough. ‘If we want to raise the kind of money we need to raise in the future, both for the party and for the independence cause, then potential donors have to be persuaded that any money they give will be properly managed. ‘That can only come from having an independent review to make sure that the party is doing everything it possibly can, so we can never have a repeat of the Peter Murrell episode.’ No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. 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