'Nicola Sturgeon enabled Peter Murrell's crimes and stitched up Alex Salmond to hide truth', says Tory MP
David Davis, a long-time friend of Mr Salmond, said that Sturgeon’s “actions to destroy a man's reputation and life were motivated by a desire to hide their own crimes.”
Nicola Sturgeon “enabled” Peter Murrell’s crimes and stitched up Alex Salmond to hide the truth, a Tory MP has claimed.
David Davis, a long-time friend of Mr Salmond, said that Sturgeon’s “actions to destroy a man's reputation and life were motivated by a desire to hide their own crimes.”
He said that Mr Salmond “was considering going on the national executive committee” to expose discrepancies in the SNP’s finances when the Scottish Government started investigating him for sexual harassment.
The Scottish Government’s investigation was later ruled unlawful and Mr Salmond was found not guilty of 12 charges in court.
Mr Murrell, who is Ms Sturgeon’s estranged husband and a former SNP CEO, pled guilty to embezzling £400,000 from the party and was sentenced to five years in prison last month.
Ms Sturgeon has denied that she ever had any knowledge of his crimes.
She said that Mr Davis claims were “conspiracy theories” and labelled him a “coward” for saying them in parliament where he cannot be sued for what he has said.
Mr Davis told the House of Commons on Thursday afternoon: “My view on her denials is clear: she is lying.
“She knew full well what her husband was doing and how those luxury purchases were funded.
“That Murrell was a thief was obvious in the 1980s when he stole from Alex Salmond.
“Salmond told Sturgeon he was deeply unwise to keep her husband on as chief executive, but she kept him in place, enabling his crimes for years.”
He continued that Mr Salmond, who was Ms Sturgeon’s predecessor as first minister, was planning to get a place on the party’s national executive committee to uncover what had happened to missing SNP cash.
Mr Davis told MPs: “Sturgeon was part of the cover-up, using her position to suppress justice. She behaved dishonourably and dishonestly, but a most evil act was stitching up Alex Salmond to hide the truth.
“When he was considering going on the national executive himself, the risk to the conspirators was clear. Here's a numerate man who could not be silenced.
“So what did they do? In Salmond's own words, there was a malicious and concerted attempt to remove him from public life in Scotland by a range of individuals within the Scottish government.
“The senior Scottish government figures created a procedure for dealing with sexual harassment allegations that deliberately targeted Salmond.
“That procedure was so biased that a judge ruled it unlawful and tainted by apparent bias. So, having lost that, they brought prosecutions against him.
“But Salmond was acquitted on all charges by a majority female jury before a female judge. It now appears clear that these actions to destroy a man's reputation and life were motivated by a desire to hide their own crimes.”
Since Mr Murrell’s conviction, the SNP has faced calls to hold some sort of inquiry into how so much money could be embezzled from the party.
First Minister John Swinney has so far rejected a Holyrood probe, but members of Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee are considering an investigation.
Mr Davis added: “There's a clear pattern of secrecy, obstruction, and power used to protect power.
“A pattern started by Sturgeon. Scotland needs a fresh start.
“That starts with a judicial inquiry into this entire sordid scandal, because it's a scandal that cost Alex Salmond his life.”
Ms Sturgeon said: “This member of the ‘Old Boys Club’ has been spreading conspiracy theories on behalf of the late Alex Salmond since 2021 - and now he is telling more lies about me.
“The fact that he hides like a coward behind the legal privilege of Westminster says everything we need to know about him.”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.