Ministers deny involvement in delay to Murrell court hearing

The Scottish government insists it had no involvement in the decision to push back a court hearing in the criminal case against former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell.

The 61-year-old faces a charge of embezzling almost £460,000 from the party over a period of more than 12 years.

A preliminary hearing scheduled for this Friday has been put back to 25 May. Murrell has not yet made any plea.

Scottish Conservative MSP Douglas Ross said the fact the hearing would not take place until after May's Holyrood election "absolutely stinks" - but government business minister Graeme Dey said he would "utterly refute" the claims.

Dey said no discussions had taken place with the courts and that all decisions were a matter for the independent courts and judiciary.

Murrell, the estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, was chief executive of the SNP for 22 years.

He has been charged with embezzling £459,000 from the party between August 2010 and January 2023.

Details of a charge against him - including the illicit purchase of luxury goods, two cars and a motorhome, using party funds - were contained in an indictment seen by BBC News ahead of a preliminary hearing.

That hearing was due to take place on 20 February at the High Court in Glasgow, but it has now been pushed back to 25 May in Edinburgh.

The Times newspaper has since reported that the application was made by Murrell's defence.

At Holyrood, former Tory leader Douglas Ross questioned whether anyone working for the government had been involved in discussions about the hearing being postponed.

Graeme Dey replied that there had been "no discussions" and that scheduling was a matter for the independent courts and judiciary.

Ross then said: "This comes down to transparency. This stinks.

"It absolutely stinks that an accusation first made before the 2021 Scottish Parliament election will now not come to court until after the 2026 Scottish Parliament election."

Dey replied that he would "utterly refute" the allegations made by Ross.

He added: "Let me be absolutely clear - this is a live court case and therefore I would strongly suggest we should all of us be cautious about our comments in relation to it.

"I reiterate that the scheduling of trials is a matter for the independent judiciary and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.

"It is a matter entirely for the judge to decide the date for preliminary hearings or trials - and I reiterate that there have been no discussions of the type Mr Ross implied."

The row at Holyrood comes after the prime minister was rebuked for bringing up Murrell's case in the House of Commons.

Sir Keir Starmer mentioned the upcoming hearing while sparring with SNP MPs, but was told by Speaker Lindsay Hoyle that "we do not discuss live cases".