Nicola Sturgeon Arrested, Peter Murrell Charged

[Cairn Terrier]

3 hours ago, DeeTillEhDeh said:

but if you look at the actual facts 

What are these facts?

Apart from being arrested, questioned and released without charge I don’t know anything else really.

 

[Wee Bully]

2 hours ago, Cairn Terrier said:

What are these facts?

Apart from being arrested, questioned and released without charge I don’t know anything else really.

 

The Yoons all know. 

[vikingTON]

11 hours ago, DeeTillEhDeh said:

From what we've been told, they aren't just investigating about the ringfenced monies but wider SNP finances and expenditure - money supposedly spent on campaigning but may have been on personal use.

It could take just as long to establish the paper trail for the 'ringfenced' monies as any other set of funds though. 

Not least given how dubious it is that this 'ringfence' was actually applied on a practical level. If some, most, or even all money swilled in and out of the same party treasury at some point, it only makes the original issue more difficult to solve.

[DeeTillEhDeh]

27 minutes ago, virginton said:

It could take just as long to establish the paper trail for the 'ringfenced' monies as any other set of funds though. 

Not least given how dubious it is that this 'ringfence' was actually applied on a practical level. If some, most, or even all money swilled in and out of the same party treasury at some point, it only makes the original issue more difficult to solve.

The original issue wouldn't be biting them on the arse if they hadn't been so fucking secretive in the first place.  If they had been a lot more honest and fessed up I think there wouldn't have been anything like the fuss there was that started this whole ball rolling.

That's primarily down to Murrell but there's a lot of other people who need to shoulder the blame for the complete lack of transparency in the SNP's finances. There's a culture in the SNP of not questioning or challenging - and those that do are treated as persona non gratia - absolutely not an acceptable state of affairs in a political party.

It's one of the major reasons I left.

Edited November 4, 2023 by DeeTillEhDeh

[CarrbridgeSaintee]

On 04/11/2023 at 22:08, DeeTillEhDeh said:

The original issue wouldn't be biting them on the arse if they hadn't been so fucking secretive in the first place.  If they had been a lot more honest and fessed up I think there wouldn't have been anything like the fuss there was that started this whole ball rolling.

That's primarily down to Murrell but there's a lot of other people who need to shoulder the blame for the complete lack of transparency in the SNP's finances. There's a culture in the SNP of not questioning or challenging - and those that do are treated as persona non gratia - absolutely not an acceptable state of affairs in a political party.

It's one of the major reasons I left.

Respect for being honest DTED, and I say that as a Unionist.

A mate of mine is similar and reckons he was being ‘taken for a ride’ before he left.

He seems demoralised and probably just won’t vote at future elections unless there’s a complete overhaul in the SNP.  An activist/voter lost.

[strichener]

Those pesky police just won't stop investigating.  £90k+ motor in their sights now.

[orfc]

13 hours ago, strichener said:

Those pesky police just won't stop investigating.  £90k+ motor in their sights now.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/police-investigating-missing-snp-donations-31637216

How do you afford 110k for a motor home and 90k for a jaguar? It doesn't sounds like it was a leased car if he was trying to flog it at We buy any car

160k for her and 80k for him = 240k, but that'll be halved by tax &, NI, then it was shown previously Nicola absolutely rammed her pension with her earnings, plus the weird snp thing of not taking pay rises, it's not loose change they had left over. https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/nicola-sturgeons-tax-returns-reveal-29144262

Edited December 11, 2023 by orfc

[D Angelo Barksdale]

At least it was a Jaguar, proper British brand of car and not some foreign muck.

[alta-pete]

8 hours ago, orfc said:

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/police-investigating-missing-snp-donations-31637216

How do you afford 110k for a motor home and 90k for a jaguar? It doesn't sounds like it was a leased car if he was trying to flog it at We buy any car

160k for her and 80k for him = 240k, but that'll be halved by tax &, NI, then it was shown previously Nicola absolutely rammed her pension with her earnings, plus the weird snp thing of not taking pay rises, it's not loose change they had left over. https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/nicola-sturgeons-tax-returns-reveal-29144262

I disagree. But agreed that between them they were grossing £240/250k pa. No dependents, a fairly modest house, a half share in a Portuguese holiday villa and significant accumulated public sector pension contributions. The lifestyle seems to fit their means.

An electric Jaguar would be well within their reach. All they have to do is come out, tell the media to FO, it’s their personal financial decisions and that there’s nothing more to explain. 

[Michael W]

It's clearly within the means of two high earners to buy that car. Seems like Murrell has now sold it anyway. 

The question being looked at is whether Murrell/Sturgeon paid for it personally as you would expect, or if the SNP bought it for them. 

[Blue Brazil Forever]

13 minutes ago, Michael W said:

It's clearly within the means of two high earners to buy that car. Seems like Murrell has now sold it anyway. 

The question being looked at is whether Murrell/Sturgeon paid for it personally as you would expect, or if the SNP bought it for them. 

Or charged to Expenses ?

[Sonam]

On 25/10/2023 at 18:24, Trogdor said:

Spoilt ballot is the way to show all these fucking imposters what I think of them. I did it in the local elections and hurtling towards the same this time around.

The SNP are a simmering wreck that needs to go down before it goes up.

A spoiled ballot is a vote for the Tories.

While I despair at the state of Starmer's Labour (almost Blue Tories) I know I would still prefer a Labour government than the ever increasing racist right wing Trump like Tories. 13 years, it can get A LOT worse!!!

SNP do need to go down a little to go up. Labour can't be seen to be doing any deals with the SNP down south, as more would vote Tory then.

Tactical voting, I a Labour coalition with say Lib Dems would help SNP I reckon. Anyone but Tory party.

[orfc]

1 hour ago, alta-pete said:

I disagree. But agreed that between them they were grossing £240/250k pa. No dependents, a fairly modest house, a half share in a Portuguese holiday villa and significant accumulated public sector pension contributions. The lifestyle seems to fit their means.

An electric Jaguar would be well within their reach. All they have to do is come out, tell the media to FO, it’s their personal financial decisions and that there’s nothing more to explain. 

That gross 240k will drop to well below half given their pension stuffing, SNP pay martyrdom (20% back to the public purse - still taxed in it?) and most if it sitting in the 42% tax band. Maybe they saved up or have paid off their mortgage. But generally dropping 90k on a car seems bloody mad considering you lose about 25% of a new car's value in the first 12 months.

[KingRocketman II]

6 minutes ago, orfc said:

That gross 240k will drop to well below half given their pension stuffing, SNP pay martyrdom (20% back to the public purse - still taxed in it?) and most if it sitting in the 42% tax band. Maybe they saved up or have paid off their mortgage. But generally dropping 90k on a car seems bloody mad considering you lose about 25% of a new car's value in the first 12 months.

I for one welcome any investigation to lead into determining whether priorities in relation to their disposable income are aligned with yours. Anything that is not in sync, v likely through party funding in my view. 

[alta-pete]

4 hours ago, Michael W said:

It's clearly within the means of two high earners to buy that car. Seems like Murrell has now sold it anyway. 

The question being looked at is whether Murrell/Sturgeon paid for it personally as you would expect, or if the SNP bought it for them. 

 

3 hours ago, Blue Brazil Forever said:

Or charged to Expenses ?

Pure speculation on my part:

Murrell bought the car with SNP money. He should have declared it as an employee Benefit in Kind to be taxed through PAYE (a moot point as it's electric and therefore any tax due would be minimal) and he's then gone on to sell the car. If the money went back to the SNP, other than the potential for a very small tax miscalculation to be corrected, there is no case to answer. If however he's trousered the cash himself, I'd say he's caught bang to rights.  

[Wee Bully]

Even Effie Deans is pouring cold water on this one!

if this is the best that they can come up after months of investigation (and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing) they should wind the investigation up now.  Next people will be questioning how a couple earning £240k pa with no dependants can possibly afford to inherit a half share in a Portuguese holiday home. It is risable. 

[KingRocketman II]

a couple earning over £200k per annum living in a house worth more than £350k??? where did they get the cash to buy it? Also could only have been an outright purchase as I can't think of any other means to finance a flat purchase........dodgy as feck in my view......

[strichener]

15 hours ago, orfc said:

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/police-investigating-missing-snp-donations-31637216

How do you afford 110k for a motor home and 90k for a jaguar? It doesn't sounds like it was a leased car if he was trying to flog it at We buy any car

160k for her and 80k for him = 240k, but that'll be halved by tax &, NI, then it was shown previously Nicola absolutely rammed her pension with her earnings, plus the weird snp thing of not taking pay rises, it's not loose change they had left over. https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/nicola-sturgeons-tax-returns-reveal-29144262

A pure stab in the dark but since everyone else is speculating, here's mine - Car bought by SNP and gifted to Murrell, tax due on the value of the "gift".  Gift then sold with sale price going to Murrell.  Police question is who authorised this within the SNP and what funds were used to buy it.  Looking forward to some bat shit mental justification on how this was a legitimate expense towards a referendum campaign.

[BFTD]

The hairless one murdered somebody inconvenient and cremated their body in the boot, before trying to sell it to a dealer so nobody would find the evidence. The polis were looking for the ashes in his garden.

I know that seems highly unlikely, but a while back someone pointed out that the polis genuinely thought that a murderer might have done that with their victim's bodies and car, so if it sounds reasonable to Plod...

[alta-pete]

52 minutes ago, BFTD said:

The hairless one murdered somebody inconvenient and cremated their body in the boot, before trying to sell it to a dealer so nobody would find the evidence. The polis were looking for the ashes in his garden.

I know that seems highly unlikely, but a while back someone pointed out that the polis genuinely thought that a murderer might have done that with their victim's bodies and car, so if it sounds reasonable to Plod...

….my money is on the French diplomat…