Westminster committee confirms it WILL launch a probe in wake of the Peter Murrell scandal

Click here to visit the Scotland home page for the latest news and sport See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 12:02 EDT, 9 September 2026 | Updated: 12:02 EDT, 9 September 2026 The Scottish Affairs Committee (SAC) will launch its own inquiry into the fallout from the Peter Murrell scandal.MPs will press ahead with their own probe after Holyrood snubbed the opportunity to do so following the embezzlement of more than £400,000 by the former SNP chief executive, who is Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband.The Labour-led committee came under pressure from senior Tory MPs and also Scottish Labour’s acting leader to now take forward its own work on the issue.It follows the confirmation that three Scottish Parliament committees turned down the request for co-operation. Peter Murrell pleaded guilty to embezzling over £400,000The SAC is led by chairman Patricia Ferguson, a Labour MP. The other ten members include five from Labour, two Conservative, two Liberal Democrat and one SNP.MPs will examine the Electoral Commission's 'oversight of the funding and governance of political parties in Scotland'. Speaking earlier this week, Scottish Labour acting leader Dame Jackie Baillie said: ‘We have always been clear that our preference would be for Holyrood to lead an inquiry into the lessons to be learned from Operation Branchform. It is for John Swinney and for SNP MSPs to explain why they are so reluctant to allow the public to get answers on this vital issue.‘However, if they continue to obstruct an inquiry, then the Scottish Affairs Committee will seek to take forward this important work.‘The culture of secrecy and cover-up has festered for too long. It is time the SNP did the right thing and stopped standing in the way of the truth.’Kemi Badenoch previously accused the SNP of attempting a ‘cover up’ over the scandal and insisted that if Holyrood does not look into the fallout then Westminster should do it instead.