Purchase of Jaguar car allegedly bought by Peter Murrell ‘investigated as part of SNP police probe’

The electric I-Pace SUV was allegedly bought by Peter Murrell

The purchase of a Jaguar car is being investigated as part of the ongoing police probe into the SNP's finances, it has been reported.

The Sunday Mail said the electric I-Pace SUV was allegedly bought by Peter Murrell, the SNP’s former chief executive and Nicola Sturgeon’s husband, from a dealership in Edinburgh. The cost of the vehicle starts at around £69,995. It has since been sold.

Mr Murrell and Ms Sturgeon were both arrested and released without charge earlier this year as part of the police investigation.

Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell. Picture: ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images

In April, it emerged a luxury campervan had been seized by officers from outside the home of Mr Murrell’s elderly mother in Fife.

Scottish Labour deputy Leader Jackie Baillie said the latest revelation “demands answers from the SNP”. She said: “The allegations are incredibly serious and, quite frankly, the whole situation stinks. Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon have driven trust in Scotland’s politics into a ditch.

"Only by booting out this whole rotten SNP Government can we get decency and integrity back into our politics.”

A source told the Sunday Mail that officers had “interviewed at least one worker at the dealership about the sale” of the Jaguar.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “As the investigation is ongoing, we are unable to comment further.” An SNP spokesperson said: “We cannot comment on a live police inquiry.”

The investigation into the SNP has been ongoing since July 2021. Sir Iain Livingstone, who retired as the chief constable of Police Scotland in August, previously revealed the investigation had expanded beyond the initial complaint.

He told the BBC it was “complex”, adding: “Investigations around fraud, potential embezzlement, misuse of funds, take time to obtain the information from banks and institutions. You can’t do that automatically, you need judicial warrants.

“Time has been taken and in my judgement it is absolutely necessary for a prudent, thorough and proportionate investigation to be carried out.

“Had we not taken this investigation in the manner we have, I would rightly be accused of significant dereliction and neglect of duty. We have done the right thing by the rule of law and the interests of justice must prevail.”