FMQs - More Questions Thanks Answers
Alex Massie was left distantly unimpressed at Nicola Sturgeon's performance at First Minister's Questions the other day and, having listened to the exchanges myself, I have to agree.
After all this time the highest paid official of the SNP and the SNP party leader are saying completely different things about the nature of two hugely significant meetings which took place with Alex Salmond in the Murrell/Sturgeon family home.
"So, Ms Davidson asked, since Mr Murrell and Ms Sturgeon have given conflicting accounts of her meetings with Mr Salmond, “which one of them is true?” A fair question, you might think, but not to the extent of forgetting that these sessions are not called “First Minister’s Answers”. For, like Mr Murrell, Ms Sturgeon refuses to accept that their accounts differ at all. Even though he says she met Mr Salmond on government business and she says she met him on party business. Perhaps, in the brave new Scotland, we should henceforth assume that the conflation of party and country — an SNP hobby since the dawn of time — is now complete. That would simplify certain matters."
Read the full article via the link below to The Times, but it seems clear to me that these two very different versions of events have been deliberately concocted.
Because intelligent and experienced people don't behave in this way unless they have something to hide.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/answers-only-raise-more-questions-xvrxtkm26
Scotland - Party Business vs Government Business (08/12/20)
I will be interested to read what the media have to say about Peter Murrell's appearance before the Salmond Inquiry earlier today because I thought the SNP's chief executive was highly evasive and unconvincing.
Not least because every time Peter was asked a difficult question he kept referring to Nicola Sturgeon's (his wife's) written evidence instead of answering the point directly for himself.
The crux of the matter comes down to two separate meetings Nicola Sturgeon held with Alex Salmond in the Sturgeon/Murrell family home on 2 April 2018 and 14 July 2018.
According to Nicola Sturgeon the first meeting (02/04/20) was about SNP business not Scottish Government business - hence there was no official ScotGov record of what the current first minister discussed with the former first minister (her mentor and immediate predecessor).
Peter Murrell insists he knew nothing about this highly unusual meeting and apart from the fact it was taking place in his own home - he wasn't told anything about the meeting and didn't ask anything about the meeting.
Despite the fact that as SNP chief executive Mr Murrell is the party's most senior official and that Nicola Sturgeon's stated reason for agreeing to such a private meeting in the first place was that she "thought Mr Salmond may be about to resign from the SNP".
The record shows that Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond kept in contact, by phone and text message, following their 2nd April meeting and a further private meeting was held in Aberdeen on 7 June 2018.
No record was kept of the Aberdeen meeting even though by that time Nicola Sturgeon had alerted the senior civil servant (permanent secretary) in the Scottish Government to her earlier contact with Alex Salmond.
A third and final meeting between the two was held in the Murrell/Sturgeon family home, on 14 July 2018 which Nicola Sturgeon reported to her permanent secretary, albeit after the event on 16 July 2018 - again Mr Murrell says he was in the dark as to what was going on until the story broke in the press in August 2018.
Now my reading of the evidence is that by June/July 2018 the lines between SNP business and Scottish Government business had become completely blurred even though the dangers were all too obvious at the time.
So let's see what Scotland's journalists make of it all.
Politics and Spouses - Carrie Symonds and Peter Murrell (13/11/20)
Media reports claim that Carrie Symonds, Boris Johnson's partner and fiancée, has been playing a pivotal role in the affairs of government over the past few days.
Now that's not a good thing if you ask me, since no one elected or even appointed Carrie Symonds to stick her nose in where it doesn't belong.
At the opposite end of the spectrum we have the curious case of Peter Murrell, husband of the First Minister and Chief Executive of the SNP whose remit includes, like all CEOs, 'knowing what's going on at all times'.
Yet Peter Murrell insists he 'knew nothing' about two important meetings between Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond which were allegedly about SNP internal party matters - rather than the business of the Scottish Government.
Curiouser and curiouser, as they say.
Murrell's 'Manuel Defence' (10/09/2020)
I am not one of life's sceptics or a natural conspiracy theorist, but I have to say that Peter Murrell's explanation that he 'knew nothing' about Alex Salmond making two private visits to his home in 2018 sounds completely absurd.
Nicola Sturgeon has previously claimed that these visits were to do with SNP business and not the Scottish Government, but Peter Murrell is the chief executive of the SNP, as well as Nicola Sturgeon's husband.
So it simply beggars belief that Peter Murrell turned a blind eye to what was going on because it's not exactly every day that a former First Minister turns up at your front door to have two separate meetings on important SNP business with your wife.
Read Paul Hutcheon's report via the link below to the Daily Record.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/nicola-sturgeons-husband-says-not-22655277
Sturgeon's husband says she did not tell him about Alex Salmond sexual misconduct complaints
Peter Murrell said his wife informed him she "couldn’t discuss the details" about her meetings with Salmond on the complaints
By Paul Hutcheon - Daily Record
Nicola Sturgeon’s husband has said she did not inform him that sexual misconduct complaints had been made to the Government about Alex Salmond.
Peter Murrell, who is the SNP chief executive, said his wife told him she could not discuss what was talked about at meetings between her and Salmond at the couple’s home.
He said he became aware of the complaints after they were made public in August 2018.
In 2018, the Daily Record revealed that the Government had investigated complaints of sexual misconduct by two women against Salmond.
Salmond took legal action and the internal Government probe was ruled to be unlawful and tainted by apparent bias.
The botched investigation cost the taxpayer over £500,000 and led to a special Holyrood committee being set up.
A key issue being examined by MSPs is contact between Sturgeon and Salmond when the investigation was ongoing. The pair met at Sturgeon’s house and also spoke on the telephone.
She has previously said she met Salmond in her capacity as SNP leader, which put the focus on the party as well as the Government.
Murrell, the SNP’s long standing chief executive, was asked a series of questions by the committee about when he first knew of the complaints and the meetings between his wife and Salmond.
In a response, he said: “I became aware that complaints had been made under the Scottish Government procedure when the matter became public in August 2018.
“I knew about the meetings between Nicola and Alex Salmond at our home on 2 April and 14 July 2018 and I had the sense that something serious was being discussed. Nicola told me she couldn’t discuss the details. The nature of Nicola’s job means that when she tells me she can’t discuss something, I don’t press it.”
Peter Murrell - A Meddle Not a Muddle (08/10/20)
Holyrood Inquiry - Conflicts of Interest (06/10/20)
Turns out they were genuine after all and here's what they said:
First message
“Totally agree folk should be asking the police questions... report now with the PF on charges which leaves police twiddling their thumbs. So good time to be pressurising them. Would be good to know Met looking at events in London.”
Second message
“TBH the more fronts he is having to firefight on the better for all complainers. so CPS action would be a good thing.”
Shameful, arrogant behaviour from those at the very top of the SNP including the First Minister herself.
Read the full story via the link below to the Daily Record.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/nicola-sturgeons-husband-admits-sending-22798102
Holyrood Inquiry - Conflicts of Interest (03/10/20)
The newspapers report today that the SNP has 'lawyered up' by hiring one of Scotland's biggest law firms, Shepperd and Wedderburn, to represent its interests over the Holyrood inquiry into the Alex Salmond affair.
Given recent statements in the Scottish Parliament it's surely reasonable to ask from whom are these lawyers taking their instructions - the SNP Leader or the SNP Chief Executive?Mr and Mrs vs Salmond Inquiry Holyrood Inquiry - (02/10/20)
The Daily Record reports that Nicola Sturgeon is refusing to answer questions in the Scottish Parliament in connection with controversial WhatsApp messages allegedly sent by her husband, Peter Murrell
Now no one has to answer for the behaviour of their spouse, but this is undoubtedly a very fair question to put to the Leader of the SNP and the fact that she happens to be married to the party's Chief Executive is neither here nor there.
The buck clearly stops with the party leader, but read the full story for yourself via the link below to the Daily Record.
Nicola Sturgeon refuses to say whether the WhatsApp messages linked to her husband on the Alex Salmond case are genuine
The First Minister was quizzed today at First Minister's Questions about a story broken by the Daily Record
By Paul Hutcheon - Daily Record
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/nicola-sturgeon-refuses-say-whether-22774244
Murrell's 'Manuel Defence' 3 (24/09/20)
SNP MP calls for Sturgeon's husband to be suspended as part chief executive
KENNY MacAskill has suggested Nicola Sturgeon’s husband should be suspended from his job as chief executive of the SNP for “conduct unbecoming”.
He said Peter Murrell should be investigated after the leak of WhatsApp messages which appear to show him urging police and prosecution action against Alex Salmond.
The messages date from January 2019, when Mr Salmond won a civil legal action against Ms Sturgeon’s government and was shortly afterwards charged with sexual assault.
The Crown Office last week instructed Police Scotland to investigate the leaked messages, which may have come from material disclosed to Mr Salmond’s trial defence team.
The SNP's former Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill, now the MP for East Lothian, keeps up his attack on the party's chief executive, Peter Murrell.
Read the full story in the link below to The Herald.
SNP MP calls for Sturgeon's husband to be suspended as party chief executive
Murrell's 'Manuel Defence' 2 (21/09/20)
MP demands probe into Nicola Sturgeon's husband's 'secret' WhatsApp messages about Alex Salmond
Former SNP Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has demanded an investigation over claims a 'leaked' document appears to show Peter Murrell backing police action against the former First Minister.
A document passed to MacAskill appears to show SNP chief executive Peter Murrell calling for pressure to be put on the police over the Salmond case.
Another message appears to show Murrell supporting action by prosecutors in relation to the former first minister.
SNP MP MacAskill has passed the information to a Holyrood committee that is investigating the Salmond controversy as well as prosecutors at the Crown Office.
He said: “I can confirm that I received an anonymous letter containing a document. I have notified both Alex Salmond and the Crown and have passed it to the inquiry committee at the Scottish Parliament.
“I would like the Scottish Parliament and the Crown Office to investigate the contents of this document.”
MSPs are examining the Scottish Government’s botched handling of sexual misconduct allegations against Salmond when he was first minister.
Murrell's 'Manuel Defence' (10/09/2020)
I am not one of life's sceptics or a natural conspiracy theorist, but I have to say that Peter Murrell's explanation that he 'knew nothing' about Alex Salmond making two private visits to his home in 2018 sounds completely absurd.
Nicola Sturgeon has previously claimed that these visits were to do with SNP business and not the Scottish Government, but Peter Murrell is the chief executive of the SNP, as well as Nicola Sturgeon's husband.
So it simply beggars belief that Peter Murrell turned a blind eye to what was going on because it's not exactly every day that a former First Minister turns up at your front door to have two separate meetings on important SNP business with your wife.
Read Paul Hutcheon's report via the link below to the Daily Record.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/nicola-sturgeons-husband-says-not-22655277
Sturgeon's husband says she did not tell him about Alex Salmond sexual misconduct complaints
Peter Murrell said his wife informed him she "couldn’t discuss the details" about her meetings with Salmond on the complaints
By Paul Hutcheon - Daily Record
Nicola Sturgeon’s husband has said she did not inform him that sexual misconduct complaints had been made to the Government about Alex Salmond.
Peter Murrell, who is the SNP chief executive, said his wife told him she could not discuss what was talked about at meetings between her and Salmond at the couple’s home.
He said he became aware of the complaints after they were made public in August 2018.
Salmond took legal action and the internal Government probe was ruled to be unlawful and tainted by apparent bias.
The botched investigation cost the taxpayer over £500,000 and led to a special Holyrood committee being set up.
A key issue being examined by MSPs is contact between Sturgeon and Salmond when the investigation was ongoing. The pair met at Sturgeon’s house and also spoke on the telephone.
Murrell, the SNP’s long standing chief executive, was asked a series of questions by the committee about when he first knew of the complaints and the meetings between his wife and Salmond.
In a response, he said: “I became aware that complaints had been made under the Scottish Government procedure when the matter became public in August 2018.
“I knew about the meetings between Nicola and Alex Salmond at our home on 2 April and 14 July 2018 and I had the sense that something serious was being discussed. Nicola told me she couldn’t discuss the details. The nature of Nicola’s job means that when she tells me she can’t discuss something, I don’t press it.”
