Alex

Scottish in London

[Alex @AlexRM]

Last Friday vs this Friday 🫠

[Alex @AlexRM]

Honest John was Angry John today 😂

[Sam Taylor @staylorish]

John Swinney loses his cool (twice) at FMQs when his personal integrity is quite legitimately questioned.

[J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling]

Like snowballs are safe in hell.

[Stephen Kerr MSP @RealStephenKerr]

Daniel Finkelstein is right. Nicola Sturgeon wants Scotland to believe that the politician who controlled the SNP, dominated Scottish politics and tolerated no dissent somehow knew nothing about what was happening inside her own party. Questions about the money were shut down. Critics were frozen out. Loyalists closed ranks. Now, after Peter Murrell’s conviction, she says she bears no responsibility. You cannot demand total control when things go well and plead ignorance when everything falls apart. Scots are no longer buying it.

[Wings Over Scotland @WingsScotland]

The who, the when, the why and the how - the full story of Operation Branchform, including the bits you've never heard before from the site that broke it. https://t.co/xSi1Dqe2hF

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Latest thoughts on Sturgeon-Murrell from @TimesRadio — The Times at One with Andrew Neil:

The Nicola Sturgeon—Peter Murrell SNP financial scandal is the gift that keeps on giving. 

We now know that Murrell bought 108 loo rolls just 24 hours before his wife told the people of Scotland not to stockpile during the pandemic. 

Maybe that’s why Sturgeon couldn’t see the now notorious camper van parked on her mother-in-law’s driveway — her husband had shielded it with the loo rolls. 

She did admit to seeing the expensive new e-Jag her husband also bought with embezzled cash — how could she not, there’s a picture of her walking past it on their driveway? — but never thought to mention it. Well, we’re all used to flash new cars suddenly appearing on our driveways. 

We’re also assured by Sturgeon that she never really clocked the expensive coffee machines in her kitchen — apparently there were several — because she was rarely in the kitchen. Then we were reminded that on Desert Island Discs her choice of a luxury item was — you guessed it — a fancy coffee machine. 

We also learned that when Sturgeon said she had fully co-operated with the police when they brought her in for questioning, what she meant was she’d said ‘no comment’ to every question the police asked. Can’t wait for that bit in a future docu-drama.

She was then allowed to provide written answers but, strangely, never brought back to be interrogated about them by the police. Let’s hope we can all expect that consideration at the hands of Police Scotland. 

Rather more serious questions remain unanswered about the SNP’s finances. 

What exactly happened to the £600,000 or so the SNP had raised to fight a second referendum that never happened? After the May 2021 Holyrood elections the SNP’s coffers were bare. So did it all go on that?

It was in June 2021 that Murrell loaned the SNP £107,000 to help with cash flow. Half was never paid back. Only in SNP-land could you embezzle your party, then give it an interest-free loan. 

Then there’s the £6m the SNP received from taxpayers. Murrell signed off on that. Was any of it used to boost Amazon’s profits?

The embezzling lasted for over a decade. Was it allowed to fester in plain sight because anybody who raised the slightest criticism of the party’s finances was bullied and threatened into silence?

One senior apparatchik resigned because he was refused sight of the party’s accounts. Well, why should he? He was only the party treasurer. 

Current First Minister John Swinney asks: ‘what more do we need to look into?’ Rather a lot is the obvious answer. 

This morning Peter Murrell, who pleaded guilty to embezzlement, appeared in handcuffs at the High Court in Edinburgh. 

It was a short session in which the prosecution gave the details of his £400,000 spending spree with embezzled SNP money using a party charge card linked to its bank account. 

Most of this is already public. Murrell said nothing. He will have his chance when he’s sentenced on June 23rd before which he can make a plea of mitigation. 

I wonder what he’ll say! Sturgeon has thrown him under the bus. Will he return the favour?

[Dr. Dame Katy Denise CH GBE 🏳️‍⚧️🇳🇬🪑 @damekatydenise_]

Finally something decent to watch! Although I don’t think Nicola will be able to see it. 💋

[DavidWilson34 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @Wilson34David]

Nicola Sturgeon

2021 - I kind of communicate at a level where I assume a certain level of intelligence on the part of people listening to me.

2026 - I don't have any conscious memory of seeing that motor home.

[Sam Taylor @staylorish]

If we’ve learned one thing over the last week, it’s that nobody in the SNP knows how to read a set of accounts. They barely even know what accounts are. Which explains why Scot Gov is heading for a fiscal trainwreck, & why the financial case for independence simply doesn’t exist.

[Andy @Bobmcphail1872]

That how we feel living in Scotland having not voted SNP.

[Alex @AlexRM]

😂 😂 😂

[Scotia80 @Scotia80]

“I wasn’t aware of the high end coffee machines because I’ve never been in the kitchen”

[Joanna Cherry KC @joannaccherry]

She is not being held responsible for her husband’s crimes. She is being called to account for her deliberate frustration of the legitimate scrutiny which might have revealed those crimes. The distinction should be perfectly intelligible to anyone except the disingenuous.

[Alex @AlexRM]

Absolute coward!

[Connor Gillies @ConnorGillies]

NEW: Sky News came to Ireland in an attempt to question Nicola Sturgeon about claims she shut down scrutiny of SNP finances at the same time her ex-husband Peter Murrell stole £400k from party.

She entered the kitchen to avoid questions with security pushing me away.

@SkyNews

[Alex @AlexRM]

Selling my weekend Mighty Hoopla ticket as I can no longer go :( https://t.co/roXAxMOf2O

#MightyHoopla

[Peter A Smith @PeterAdamSmith]

It’s a valid point. When concerns were raised, SNP did not investigate Peter Murrell. In fact, they aggressively denied money was missing.

It took a member of the public contacting police. Even then, Sean Clerkin was publicly mocked by senior figures close to Murrell & Sturgeon.

[Alex @AlexRM]

The SNP today pretending the last 24 hours haven’t happened…

[The SNP @theSNP]

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Parliament must unite behind our right to decide.

[Ruth Davidson @RuthDavidsonPC]

They are just taking the piss now, aren't they?

[Alex @AlexRM]

Brilliant! 😂

[Paul Hutcheon @paulhutcheon]

The Daily Record’s splash - Nicola Sturgeon as Manuel from Fawlty Towers.

[Steve Loftus @LoftusSteve]

The Labour leadership election seems to be all about who can tax us the most.

[Alex @AlexRM]

@ScottishFA Embarrassing. Delete this

[Alex @AlexRM]

👏

[Heart of Midlothian FC @JamTarts]

📝 Club Statement: https://t.co/5Z5zjKKtmK