Peter Murrell, a former chief executive of the Scottish National Party (SNP), has been sentenced to five years and three months in prison for embezzling party funds.

Mr Murrell, who was the SNP’s chief executive officer from 2001 to 2023, was sentenced on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP.

The judge, Lord Young, rebuked Mr Murrell for committing “a calculated sum of dishonesty” and being involved in a “significant breach of trust”.

“You found yourself unable to stop this offending, and it was only the detection of the crime that brought it to an end,” the judge said before sentencing the politician.

According to the judge, Murrell would have been sentenced to seven years in prison if he had not pleaded guilty.

Pleading for leniency, Mr Murrell’s lawyer, John Scullion, said his client had become a “figure of public ridicule”.

“In my submission, the accused is now an individual overwhelmed by feelings of embarrassment and shame,” the lawyer said.

Mr Murrell, 61, was found guilty of using party funds to buy cars, kitchenware and toiletries for himself between 2010 and 2022.