Motorhome ownership ‘not obvious’ to Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Sturgeon may not have noticed the motorhome parked outside her mother-in-law’s home because it was not obvious which property it belonged to, her allies have claimed.
The former first minister has insisted that she was “not aware of [the] existence” of the now notorious £124,550 vehicle — which her husband Peter Murrell bought for himself with SNP funds — until it “featured in the police investigation” in early 2023.
Sturgeon pointed out that the vehicle had not been parked at the marital home she shared with Murrell, the former SNP chief executive. It had instead been kept at the home of Murrell’s elderly mother, Margaret, in Dunfermline for two years until it was seized by police.
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However, doubts were raised over her claim that she was unaware of the luxury Niesmann+Bischoff Smove 7.4e motorhome after Ryan-Thomas Quinn, a student, reported seeing Sturgeon in Asda in autumn 2022, just a six-minute drive from her mother-in-law’s property.
Sturgeon had explained her presence there to another shopper by saying she had family living in the Fife town, the witness told The Telegraph, suggesting she must have visited her mother-in-law’s property and seen the vehicle.
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Sturgeon’s lawyers did not deny that the Dunfermline visit Quinn said he had witnessed had taken place.
However, sources briefed that because the vehicle was parked between Margaret Murrell’s home and her neighbours’ properties, it would not necessarily have been clear which property it belonged to. It was also claimed that the large motorhome might not be visible if the bungalow were approached from the front.
Quinn said that when he saw Sturgeon’s statement on Monday claiming she did not know about the vehicle before 2023, he “burst out laughing” because he thought her claim was “ridiculous”. He said he would regularly walk past the motorhome, which was stationary at the property, when he was aged 15 and 16.
“I just find it unbelievable that clearly she was at her mother-in-law’s house, and she didn’t think to ask her the question ‘where did the campervan on the driveway come from?’,” he said.
Quinn lives in Dunfermline with his mother and said it was a “bit of an open, gossipy secret” among local people about where Murrell’s mother lived. He said he vividly remembered seeing Sturgeon in the supermarket and her explanation that she was there visiting family.
Although he is a Labour activist, he said he would have “nothing to gain” from making up the encounter for political reasons, given that the SNP has recently won another five years in power at the elections this month.
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Sturgeon had said she would not comment further on the case following an initial statement on Monday, after Murrell pleaded guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP over 12 years. She referred to Murrell as her “former husband”, though it is not known if they are formally divorced.
However, she went on to issue several more statements through lawyers after her claim that she had not even suspected Murrell’s criminality against the party she led was widely ridiculed.
Sturgeon has been pictured wearing or using many of the items he purchased with SNP cash, while many luxury items, such as high-end coffee machines, a fitted bookcase and a robot lawnmower, were apparently for their home.
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In response to reports that Sturgeon had given a “no comment” interview to police, Aamer Anwar, her lawyer, said she had been following standard legal advice. However, critics said this clashed with her previous promise to co-operate fully with the investigation.
Sturgeon was arrested in June 2023, two months after Murrell, but the investigation into her, as well as the former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie, was later dropped and no charges were ever brought.
In a statement issued on Monday, she said: “I want to reiterate that I had no knowledge or suspicion whatsoever that personal items had been purchased using SNP funds. I was cleared of any wrongdoing after a lengthy and thorough investigation.”
She added: “In relation to many of the items in question, for example expensive watches and games consoles, I was not aware of them having been purchased at all.
“Indeed, in relation to the item of largest value — a campervan — I was not aware of its existence until it featured in the police investigation in early 2023, nor was it parked in our driveway as has been claimed by some.
“In respect of any items I was aware of Peter having purchased, I had no reason to doubt that he had used his own money.
“We were both earning high salaries and, due to the responsibilities of my job, rarely socialised or went on holidays. We had separate bank accounts and I had no access to his financial records.”