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Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell enjoyed nearly a decade of dominance over Scotland’s government |
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Simon Johnson Scottish Political Editor |
Dozens of officers descended on the suburban home shared by Nicola Sturgeon and her husband, Peter Murrell, at 7.35am on April 5, 2023.
They set up an evidence tent on the driveway, while large blue sheets were used to shield the view of the garage and back garden.
In astonishing scenes beamed onto TV screens across Britain, police searched the house, using the tent and sheets to shield the items they removed from the watching cameras.
Sturgeon, who only two months previously had been Scotland’s first minister, later said her house looked “like a murder scene”.
Murrell, who had been the SNP’s chief executive for more than two decades, was arrested as part of the police investigation into embezzlement.
It was an extraordinary and humiliating downfall for Scotland’s definitive power couple, who had enjoyed nearly a decade of dominance over the country’s devolved government and largest political party.
Sturgeon and her husband rose to the peak of their powers after the Yes campaign’s defeat in the 2014 independence referendum. She was crowned as Alex Salmond’s successor in both jobs.
The Yes campaign failed to win independence for Scotland |
However, in a prescient warning, SNP insiders told The Telegraph that Salmond telephoned senior party figures to predict that “nothing good would come” of the chief executive being married to the leader.
Within three years, the seeds of their downfall were sown when Sturgeon launched an appeal to SNP members to donate to a campaign fund for a future second independence referendum.
This triggered an extraordinary series of events that saw both Murrell and Sturgeon eventually resign from their jobs and Murrell be convicted and facing prison.
Now, Sturgeon is facing calls to “come clean” over what she knew about her husband embezzling £400,000 from the party.
Read the full story here ➤
From motorhome to money clip: Thieving Peter Murrell’s most outrageous purchases ➤
Alan Cochrane | It’s the question all Scots are asking: what did Nicola know? ➤
In case you missed it | Sturgeon ‘must come clean’ |
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James Crisp Europe Editor |
Russia is at the gates. Donald Trump can’t be trusted. Europe can’t defend itself.
Emmanuel Macron thinks he has the answer – French jets carrying nuclear warheads. The president thinks he can use them to face down Putin.
In a race against time as he approaches the final year of his presidency, Macron’s offer to Europe is designed to force Putin to think twice before attacking – even if the US pulls out of Nato.
Experts suggest “forward deterrence” could be the building blocks of Europe’s future security architecture as the US pivots towards the Pacific.
Currently, all EU member states are bound by the nuclear non-proliferation treaty which prevents countries without the bomb from getting one. Getting their own weapon would run the risk of provoking Russia into a pre-emptive strike.
However, by deploying France’s nuclear-capable Rafale fighter jets to nations across Europe, it means they can have a nuclear deterrence capability – without getting their own bomb.
Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, has already said he wants to discuss the idea.
Continue reading ➤ |
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James Bartholomew Emigrating is no longer a last resort. If you are young, clever and ambitious, other countries offer a more attractive lifestyle Continue reading ➤
Sir Steve Webb The triple lock cannot last forever. But scrapping it now would trigger a retirement disaster Continue reading ➤
Rowan Pelling The fun police are outlawing the art of harmless flirtation Continue reading ➤ |
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A new study involving 2,000 boys from schools across the UK has revealed that 1 in 5 of them aged 12-16 is either in – or knows of a friend who is in – a romantic relationship with a computer-generated companion. Nicole Mowbray spoke to some of the teenagers using these apps as well as the parents and experts who are racing to sound the alarm. Continue reading ➤ |
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The 78-year-old at home in south-west London |
Interviewing the wit, raconteur, podcaster and former politician is a bit like being assaulted by a tsunami of words. At least this is what Judith Woods found when she spoke to Gyles Brandreth at his home. He tells The Telegraph about his grandson’s cancer, his daughter’s political career and why his much-maligned knitwear caught the eye of the world’s most terrifying fashionista. Continue reading ➤ |
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From the Hinkley nuclear site in Somerset to the North Sea, a new energy empire is being built across the UK. Yet Britain is no longer the coloniser. Instead it has ceded control of its energy sector to overseas investors. Under Ed Miliband’s net zero proposals, foreign companies have begun taking advantage of the subsidies offered by the country’s lucrative green energy developments. Jonathan Leake, our Energy Editor, reports. Continue reading ➤ |
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A record-breaking 4.5 million tourists visited Cyprus in 2025, but this year the picture is starkly different |
This time last year, sun-soaked Cyprus was pushing new records for tourism: in 2025, some 4.5 million holidaymakers ventured to the island, around one third of them coming from Britain. This year, the picture is starkly different as the prospect of the Mediterranean paradise being dragged into one of the least predictable wars in decades scares sun-seekers away. Robert Jackman reports from the island’s eerily quiet resorts. Continue reading ➤ |
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Searching for your next great read? Our literary editors have picked out the books of the moment, from history to fiction to biography and more. Look out for a gorgeous novel by a modern British master, and a troubling study of how the Left rewrites history.
Continue reading ➤
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Tom Turney invested at least £600,000 into building an aqua park on his land |
Tom Turney, 39, was born and brought up at Tapnell Farm on the Isle of Wight. His family has been farmers for more than a century.
However, when changes to agricultural subsidies and rising costs hit their dairy profits, it became clear the business needed to “diversify or die”.
Sitting on 800 acres, Turney had plenty of land to work with. He began with holiday accommodation, including cabins and a manor house that sleeps 250 people. He built a farm park and a cafe for local families to enjoy.
While a restaurant venture got off to a shaky start, it was an aqua park – created from a big hole dug at the top of a hill – that boosted the family’s fortunes.
Turney hasn’t stopped there. Annie Hayes investigates the new ways in which farmers across Britain are making money.
Continue reading ➤ |
Does jazz get you jazzed?Every weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal reader correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Orlando writes...
When I was a teenager in the noughties, what I really loved listening to was jazz. Indie sleaze? It passed me by. My peers thought this was every bit as cool as you would expect. There was one recording, though, that would occasionally persuade them to hear me out: Kind of Blue, by Miles Davis, Exhibit A for jazz evangelists since 1959. The album’s acceptance among people who would normally run a mile from a lengthy trumpet solo is noted by Ivan Hewett, who declares it the genre’s crowning glory.
I think he’s probably right, as do many readers. Graham Pickford writes: “I love Kind of Blue, especially on car journeys. It’s so relaxing in the hostile environment of British roads.”
Not just British roads, either. Another reader recalls “the moment I was driving down Toorak Road in Melbourne as a youngster and one of the tracks was playing on the radio. I felt compelled to stop by the kerb and listened intently for the announcement as to what I had just heard. Mesmerising”.
Harry Lime argues: “The ‘So What’ live version is even better than the one on the album. The image of Miles Davis smoking as he looks over at John Coltrane soloing is iconic.”
There have been dissenting voices too, however. For Tony Verrill, “Kind of Blue has sold well because it’s good background mood music. Personally I don’t like Miles Davis’s high, thin, whiny trumpet tone”.
Another reader contends: “Kind of Blue is magnificent, but part of its reputation comes from being the jazz album non-jazz listeners feel comfortable canonising. Miles himself never stood still long enough to become a museum piece. ‘On the Corner’ now sounds more modern and more dangerous, and has arguably been more influential on contemporary music.” Are you a fan? Send your responses here and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition of this newsletter.
Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name. |
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1922 | Vladimir Lenin suffers the first of three strokes (and our front page from the following day)
1966 | Guyana gains independence from Britain
2014 | Narendra Modi becomes the 15th Prime Minister of India
Birthdays: Stevie Nicks (77), Lenny Kravitz (61) and Lauryn Hill (50)
Plus, pranksters in Hastings placed a large replica of which piece of confectionery atop a statue of Queen Victoria?
1. An aniseed ball
2. A rhubarb and custard
3. A mint humbug
4. A walnut whip |
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Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including PlusWord, Sorted, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was MOONLIGHT. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. |
Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor
P.S. I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback here. |
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