Peter Murrell

Peter Tierney Murrell (born 8 December 1964) is the current chief executive officer of the Scottish National Party (SNP).[1] He is married to Nicola Sturgeon, the party's leader and First Minister of Scotland.[2]

Peter Murrell
Murrell in 2014
Chief Executive Officer of the
Scottish National Party
Assumed office
1999
Preceded byMichael Russell
Personal details
Born
Peter Tierney Murrell

(1964-12-08) 8 December 1964
Edinburgh, Scotland
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2010)​

Early life and education

Murrell was born in Edinburgh on 8 December 1964.[3][4] He attended Craigmount High School and studied at the University of Glasgow.[5]

Career

Murrell has been chief executive officer of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 1999 when he took over from Michael Russell.[1] Previously he had worked in the Banff and Buchan constituency office of Alex Salmond, who was former party leader.[6] The party's success in the 2007 elections was credited to the organisation of Murrell.[7]

Behind the-scenes meddling in his role as CEO were said to have earned him the nickname ‘Penfold‘, after Danger Mouse's sidekick in the children's cartoon series.[8]

Murrell was formerly the Company Secretary of Independence Merchandising Limited, a now-dissolved company that included as its directors SNP politicians Pete Wishart and Stewart Stevenson.[9]

In January 2019 Murrell came under pressure to resign from Kenny Macaskill, former SNP Justice Secretary.[6]

Following his testimony to the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints, Murrell was reported to the Lord Advocate by committee member Murdo Fraser, who alleged he had made a "false statement" under oath while giving evidence. Murrell said he “absolutely refuted” the allegation.[10][11]

Murrell is facing questions from party members over the alleged disappearance of £600,000 in donations to the party. Police in Scotland are currently investigating an allegation of fraud with regards to the same missing £600,000.[12] The Scotsman reported in June, 2021, that Police Scotland have been asked to investigate Murrell regarding a donation to SNP from lottery winners Colin and Christine Weir, which they subsequently asked to be returned to them.[13]

Personal life

Murrell married Nicola Sturgeon in July 2010 at Òran Mór Glasgow.[2][14] They first met in 1988 when Sturgeon, who volunteered at the Banff and Buchan constituency office of Alex Salmond, attended an SNP youth camp organised by Murrell.[15] Sturgeon and Murrell became a couple in 2003.[6]

References
  1. "Spouse of the First Minister of Scotland". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  2. "Nicola Sturgeon ties the knot — but she won't be calling herself Mrs Murrell". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  3. Henden, Amalie (21 April 2020). "Nicola Sturgeon husband: Who is Nicola Sturgeon married to?". Express. Express Newspapers. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  4. "Company registration data for Independence Merchandising Ltd".
  5. "Peter Murrell". Facebook. 4 February 2019. Archived from the original on 4 February 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  6. "Who is Peter Murrell the SNP chief executive and why is he facing calls to quit?". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  7. Camp, Edwige (20 December 2014). "The Scottish National Party (SNP) : A Party of Government in the early 21st Century". Revue LISA/LISA e-journal. Littératures, Histoire des Idées, Images, Sociétés du Monde Anglophone – Literature, History of Ideas, Images and Societies of the English-speaking World (vol. XII–n°8). doi:10.4000/lisa.7008. ISSN 1762-6153.
  8. "Murrell, Peter". www.politics.co.uk/.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ltd, company check. "INDEPENDENCE MERCHANDISING LTD.. Free business summary taken from official companies house information. Free alerts. Registered as SC203193". Company Check. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  10. "Sturgeon's husband 'refutes' perjury claim but ducks key question". HeraldScotland.
  11. @murdo_fraser (8 February 2021). "Following Peter Murrell's evidence to the Salmond Inquiry Committee today, I have written to the Lord Advocate aski…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. Ferguson, John (4 April 2021). "Fraud cops probe SNP over £600k of indyref 2 funds after claims cash 'diverted'". Daily Record.
  13. "Police investigating SNP over money donated by EuroMillions winners Christine and Colin Weir".
  14. "Wedding for SNP's Nicola Sturgeon". BBC News. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  15. Midgley, Dominic (16 April 2015). "Nicola the Queen of Scots: The story behind the fiesty [sic] SNP leader". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
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