Humza Yousaf has said he thought Nicola Sturgeon looked “quite a broken woman” during a television interview in which she described the trauma and betrayal she felt after her ex-husband Peter Murrell admitted embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP.
‘Utterly gobsmacked’ by police raids
Speaking on BBC Newsnight, the former first minister recalled being “utterly gobsmacked” and “livid” when police raided the SNP’s headquarters in Edinburgh in 2023. The raid came just days after he had succeeded Sturgeon as party leader.
“I think it was day one, maybe day two (of his leadership), I get a call at just before eight in the morning I think it was, to say SNP HQ has been raided by the police and, of course, you can imagine my reaction,” Yousaf said.
“By the way, we hear also that Peter and Nicola’s house has also been raided. And, of course, the team cooperates fully and lets the police in, but we’re not allowed in while the police are doing their search.”
The police investigation, codenamed Operation Branchform, was launched in July 2021 after allegations that around £660,000 raised for a second independence referendum campaign had been misspent. It concluded in March 2025 and cost Police Scotland nearly £2.7 million. Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Houston defended the length of the inquiry, describing it as “crucial” given its complexity, and noted that Murrell had “abused his privileged position” and worked hard to cover his tracks.
Murrell, the SNP’s chief executive from 2001 to March 2023, was first arrested on 5 April 2023 and later charged with embezzlement on 18 April 2024. Sturgeon and SNP treasurer Colin Beattie were also arrested during the investigation but never charged. On 25 May 2026, Murrell pleaded guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh to embezzling £400,310.65 from the SNP between August 2010 and October 2022. He was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on 23 June 2026. The judge described his actions as a “gross breach of trust”.
‘Trauma’ and ‘betrayal’ after ex-husband’s confession
In an interview on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Sturgeon spoke at length about the emotional toll of Murrell’s betrayal. She said her ex-husband has never explained why he took party funds, and that she feels like she is “serving a sentence for a crime I did not commit”. Murrell used the money to buy a luxury motorhome for £124,550, a Jaguar I-Pace, a VW Golf, luxury watches, iPads, and other items, creating false invoices and falsifying accounting records to conceal his spending.
Sturgeon described her anger, hurt, sadness and distress over the impact of his actions. She has consistently denied any knowledge or suspicion of the embezzlement, saying she was “deceived and let down”. She also noted that she and Murrell had separate bank accounts and that she had no access to his financial records.
Despite the embezzlement, Murrell has more than £600,000 in pension funds, which have been frozen under a restraint order. The SNP is pursuing legal action to recover the misappropriated funds.
Yousaf’s belief in Sturgeon’s integrity
Asked whether he believed Sturgeon’s version of events, Yousaf described her as “a person of great integrity”. He said: “Look, I have a bias. I know Nicola, spent a lot of time with Nicola over the years, was appointed to various government roles by Nicola. I believe Nicola because I know the person and I believe her to be a person of great integrity.
“In that Laura Kuenssberg interview, I thought I saw quite a broken woman. I thought I saw somebody who was really suffering as a result of what’s happened in a huge betrayal.”
Yousaf added that while he is “certainly in that percentage that believe her”, he can understand the scepticism of others. “I mean, I’m not surprised by it,” he said. He became SNP leader and first minister on 29 March 2023, making history as the youngest person, the first Scottish Asian and the first Muslim to hold the post. His premiership ended on 7 May 2024 after he resigned facing votes of no confidence.
