Peter Murrell's lawyers get first £5k of legal aid cash... with more expected

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 06:27 EDT, 23 July 2026 | Updated: 06:28 EDT, 23 July 2026 Embezzler Peter Murrell’s lawyers have received nearly £5,000 in taxpayer-funded legal aid – with much more likely to follow.Lawyers have up to four months after the end of court proceeding to submit their accounts for legal aid – with some estimates that the final bill for representing Murrell could top £30,000.It comes after it emerged yesterday that SNP ministers could close a legal aid ‘loophole’ which helped Murrell in a shake-up of the system which includes a plan for the ‘clawback’ of payments.Scottish Tory justice spokesman Stephen Kerr said: ‘Ordinary Scots who play by the rules will be astonished that they are helping to pay the legal costs of a man who admitted embezzling more than £400,000.‘This is yet another insult to taxpayers and another indictment of the SNP’s broken justice system.‘Ministers must stop dithering, shut these loopholes and ensure public money is spent supporting victims – not criminals.’Murrell, 61, qualified for means-tested legal support as his £700,000 property and pension assets had been frozen by prosecutors. The Scottish Legal Aid Board said the amount paid to counsel to date on Murrell’s behalf is £4,831.Last month, Simon Brown, of the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association, told the BBC’s Scotcast podcast there was a ‘lot of merit’ in changing the rules so that cash could be reclaimed from criminals.Asked to speculate on the final legal aid bill for Murrell, he said: ‘At a conservative estimate, it’s not going to be less than £30,000 – it depends on how much paperwork there is.’Scotland’s legal aid system cost a record £169million in 2024/25.