SNP civil war over Salmond deepens as party HQ faces call to suspend Sturgeon's husband

A prominent SNP activist has called for Nicola Sturgeon's husband to be suspended as the party chief executive over his 'shifty and evasive' Holyrood appearance, as a civil war over Alex Salmond deepens.

Chris McEleny, an Inverclyde councillor and a former candidate for the party's deputy leadership, claimed Peter Murrell had brought the SNP into disrepute.

Opposition MSPs are pushing for Scottish prosecutors to launch an investigation into claims Mr Murrell lied under oath during his previous appearance at the Holyrood inquiry in December. In his follow-up appearance on Monday, he was directly accused of making false statements to the inquiry and warned that those who lied under oath could face up to five years in jail.

The 56-year-old strongly denies the allegations, and SNP insiders have accused committee members of indulging in wild conspiracy theories designed to protect Mr Salmond’s reputation.

In a letter to Kirsten Oswald, an SNP MP and the party’s business convenor, Mr McEleny said the long-serving Mr Murrell should be suspended “with immediate pending a full investigation.”

He added: “It is simply no longer sustainable for our national executive committee members to watch on as our party is brought into disrepute.

“If you do not act on this request, I am formally requesting that the next agenda of the SNP NEC [the party ruling body] includes a discussion on this call to suspend the Chief Executive."

Mr Murrell has been accused of changing his story during his appearance in December over whether he was at home during a crucial summit between his wife and Mr Salmond at their marital home in Glasgow on April 2, 2018. He initially denied being at home, only to later admit he came home during it.

He has also been challenged over his denial under oath of the existence of text messages to other senior party officials about the Salmond affair.

Meanwhile, MSPs told him directly they did not believe his claim that Ms Sturgeon did not tell him of her belief that Mr Salmond was about to resign from the SNP because he was facing sexual misconduct claims in advance of the April 2018 meeting.

He has also contradicted his wife over whether the meeting was a party or Scottish Government matter.

Murdo Fraser, a Tory committee member, said: "His dismal and shifty performance was a masterclass in evasion."

The April 2018 meeting is crucial as it is when Ms Sturgeon has told Holyrood and the country’s top court that she first knew that Mr Salmond was facing a Scottish Government investigation. However, Mr Salmond claims she knew sooner and the matter was discussed at a meeting she attended with his former aide in March 2018.

If Ms Sturgeon is found to have knowingly lied to Holyrood, she would be expected to resign. She also faces questions over whether she broke the ministerial code by not recording details of meetings with Mr Salmond, before the pair spectacularly fell out later in 2018, in her official diary.

The First Minister has insisted she stands by her previous statements and is looking forward to refuting the “ridiculous” accusations about the affair. Allies of Mr Salmond have claimed he was the victim of a conspiracy, although Ms Sturgeon has dismissed this as nonsense.

Mr Salmond was due to appear before the inquiry on Tuesday, but pulled out after the committee refused to publish his dossier setting out why he believes Ms Sturgeon broke the ministerial code due to legal concerns.

Both he and several committee members hope an agreement for Mr Salmond to appear over the coming days will still be reached, although he is preparing to hold a televised press conference instead if not.

Ms Sturgeon said on Monday: “In addition to answering all and any questions I will perhaps also get the opportunity to take head on some of the ridiculous suggestions that have been made about this whole situation."

Mr Salmond successfully challenged the legality of the Scottish Government probe into two sexual misconduct complaints against him in court, and was awarded more than £500,000 in legal costs. He was then cleared of all 13 sex assault charges at his trial in March, following a separate criminal investigation.

The rift over Mr Murrell’s appearance is the latest to hit the SNP, which until recently had a reputation for iron discipline.

Last week, Joanna Cherry, one of the party’s most prominent MPs and a Salmond ally, was sacked as a frontbencher at Westminster.

Then, Neale Hanvey, was also sacked as the party’s vaccines spokesman in the Commons after he donated to an online crowdfunder to raise funds to sue one of his colleagues, Kirsty Blackman.

Mr Hanvey and Ms Cherry have clashed with the party leadership over trans rights, another issue tearing the SNP apart.

Responding to Mr McEleny’s call, an SNP source said: “Mr Salmond’s supporters are getting more and more desperate - they'll do anything to side-line the horrendous experiences of the women."