Peter Murrell has had his legal aid withdrawn after being jailed for embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP.
The Scottish Legal Aid Board has confirmed the former SNP chief executive is no longer receiving publicly funded legal assistance, ahead of further court proceedings over the money he stole from the party.
Murrell, 61, was sentenced to five years and three months in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh on 23 June after pleading guilty to embezzling £400,310.65 from the SNP over a 12-year period.
His legal aid was terminated on 28 July after the board contacted his lawyers about his circumstances, according to reports.
SLAB has not disclosed the specific reason for withdrawing the funding because of legal aid and data protection rules.
A spokesperson said: “Legal aid and data protection legislation strictly limits what SLAB can disclose about individual applications.
“We can confirm the individual is no longer in receipt of legal aid.”
Murrell had originally been granted solemn legal aid following an application by his solicitors on 30 April 2025.
At the time, SLAB said his financial circumstances had been assessed using the statutory tests covering income, savings and investments potentially available to pay for his defence.
The board said his application had met the required tests.
Murrell spent more than two decades as chief executive of the SNP and had control of the party’s principal bank account.
The agreed facts presented to the High Court showed that between August 2010 and October 2022 he used party money for unauthorised purposes and attempted to disguise some spending through false invoices and inaccurate accounting entries.
The £400,310.65 taken came principally from SNP membership fees, donations and legacies.
Among the purchases made using the money were a £124,550 motorhome, vehicles, luxury goods and other personal items.
Sentencing Murrell, Lord Young said his offending involved a “significant breach of trust” towards the organisation he led as well as its members and donors.
The judge said Murrell had been able to circumvent existing checks and balances because of his position of authority and had carried out a large number of fraudulent acts.
Lord Young said a seven-year prison sentence would have been imposed following a trial, but reduced the term to five years and three months because Murrell pleaded guilty at an early stage.
Murrell’s sentence was backdated to 25 May, when he was remanded in custody after entering his guilty plea.
He is due to return to court for proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act on 7 December, when the court is expected to consider confiscation of assets linked to the money he embezzled.