Swinney: Timing of Murrell embezzlement hearing is matter for the courts

Decisions on the timings of cases are a matter for the courts, John Swinney has said, after a hearing for former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell was moved until after the Holyrood election.

The First Minister declined to comment on the publication of the indictment against Murrell, who is Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband.

Murrell is accused of embezzling funds from the party between August 2010 and January 2023.

He had initially been expected to appear at the High Court in Glasgow for a preliminary hearing on February 20.

However, on Friday, it emerged that the hearing has been moved to May 25 at the High Court in Edinburgh.

The Scottish Conservatives have said that “eyebrows will be raised” by the postponement of the hearing and called for clarity on who made the decision and why.

Asked about this on Saturday, Mr Swinney told the Press Association: “The courts make their own judgments, and this is a live legal case and I’m not going to comment on it.”

He declined to comment on the indictment against Mr Murrell.

Mr Swinney said: “This is a live legal case, and it has to take its course, and it requires no comment from me.”

The Crown Office has said the decision to adjourn a hearing to another date is a “routine procedural matter” and “does not represent development in the case”.

The prosecution service said it acts independently and the Lord Advocate and solicitor general, who are part of the Scottish Government, were not involved in the case.

Contempt of court provisions are active in relation to the case, with the Crown Office saying material published about the case must not be “commentary or analysis of evidence, witnesses or accused”.

During an election campaign stop in South Queensferry near Edinburgh, Mr Swinney and other SNP politicians held up loveheart-shaped signs, seeking to promote their party’s achievements in office.

Mr Swinney said: “When there is such chaos at Westminster, the SNP Government is delivering for the people of Scotland with, this week, an announcement of the freezing of rail fares and the opening of the first GP walk-in clinic.”

He added: “So, as Westminster is in chaos, as the Labour Party is divided, the SNP is focusing on delivering for the people of Scotland and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Tories told The Times: “Eyebrows will be raised by the postponement of the court hearing for Nicola Sturgeon’s husband until after the Holyrood election.

“The authorities must come clean as to who made this decision and why.”