Detectives investigating the SNP’s finances are looking at a £95,000 Jaguar car bought by Nicola Sturgeon’s husband, it has been reported.
The Sunday Mail said the police were looking into Peter Murrell’s purchase of an electric I-Pace SUV from a dealership in Edinburgh around 2019.
A similar car was photographed on the driveway of the couple’s house in March 2021, the month Police Scotland first received an allegation of fraud at the SNP.
The vehicle is understood to have since been sold, with the registered keeper changing in February 2022.
Earlier this year, the police seized a £110,000 campervan from outside the home of Mr Murrell’s widowed 92-year-old mother in Fife.
Mr Murrell, Ms Sturgeon, and former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie have all been arrested and questioned as part of Operation Branchform and released without charge since April.
Ms Sturgeon has inisted she is innocent of any wrongdoing.
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Ms Sturgeon announced she was quitting as SNP leader in February and Mr Murrell quit as SNP chief executive a month later after the party misled the media about membership nnumbers.
The Sunday Mail quoted a source saying at least one member of staff at the car dealership which sold the car has been interviewed.
The fully electric vehicle, which starts at £80,000 but can cost £95,000 with optional extras, goes from 0-62mph in 4.8 seconds and has a top speed of 125 mph.
The Sunday Mail reported a second source saying Mr Murrell was spotted in late 2021 at a We Buy Any Car office near his Glasgow home.
It quoted the person saying: “I was driving into the We Buy Any Car offices and I was surprised to see Peter Murrell driving out in a very high spec electric Jaguar.
“I asked the boy working at the desk and he said Murrell had been looking to sell the car.”
Police Scotland launched Operation Branchform in July 2021 in response to claims that around £660,000 raised by the SNP specifically for Indyref2 may have been misspent.
Scottish Tory chairman Craig Hoy said: “This is just the latest revelation in the murky financial scandal that has engulfed the SNP.
“These allegations are incredibly serious and yet again, there are crucial questions that Peter Murrell must now answer.
“Mr Murrell, Nicola Sturgeon and every other SNP figure involved must be up front and should fully cooperate with the Police investigation. The public deserves to know the truth.”
Scottish Labour deputy Leader Jackie Baillie said: “This latest revelation demands answers from the SNP.
“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.”
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Ahead of his retirement earlier this year. outgoing Police Scotland Chief Constable Sir Iain Livingstone said the probe had grown beyond the initial allegation of fraud, suggesting it encompassed “potential embezzlement” and the “misuse of funds”.
Police Scotland said: “As the investigation is ongoing we are unable to comment further.”
The SNP added: “We cannot comment on a live police investigation.”
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