Murrell inquiry is needed - there are questions that MUST be asked, insists law expert

By GRAHAM GRANT, SCOTTISH HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR Published: 17:37, 14 June 2026 | Updated: 17:41, 14 June 2026 An inquiry is needed into the Peter Murrell scandal amid suspicion of ‘party political influence’ on police and prosecutors, Nicola Sturgeon’s former law tutor has said. Alistair Bonnington, former honorary professor of law at Glasgow University, said it was ‘fantasy’ to claim that the ‘wrongdoing was restricted to one individual’. He spoke out after MSPs voted down a bid to hold a Holyrood inquiry, while MPs on the Scottish Affairs Committee are under pressure to launch a probe at Westminster. Speaking to the Mail, Mr Bonnington said: ‘I think there should be an inquiry. There are questions about the conduct of Police Scotland, the Crown and the Scottish Government in relation to this case. Alistair Bonnington is a former honorary professor of law at Glasgow University Peter Murrell at the High Court in Edinburgh during a hearing for the prosecution narrative to be read out ‘The suspicion which runs throughout the whole affair is that the Scottish Government has influenced both the police and the Crown in their work on the Murrell case for party political purposes. Police Scotland and the Crown should operate entirely independently of the Scottish Government. ‘There are large question marks over whether that is what happened here.’ Mr Bonnington added: ‘In a responsible democracy these inquiries would be undertaken by the government, but due to the SNP policy of obsessive secrecy we can dismiss any chance of that.’ Police Scotland, the Crown Office, and the Scottish Government were contacted for comment. 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. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.