Swinney backs lord advocate after corruption claim

John Swinney says he has "absolute confidence" in the country's top law officer after she faced a suggestion of corruption in the Scottish Parliament.

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain was criticised by opposition MSPs over a memo she sent to the first minister about a criminal charge against former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, who is accused of embezzling almost £460,000 from the party.

Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay has doubled on down on claims the move "smacks of corruption" - drawing heavy criticism from leading legal figures.

Murrell, 61, is yet to make a plea, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for 25 May.

Tory and Labour MSPs first rounded on the lord advocate in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday.

That came after it was revealed Bain had emailed Swinney on 19 January to give him details of the charge against Murrell, weeks before they became public.

The lord advocate has a dual role as Scotland's chief prosecutor, as well as acting as the government's principal legal adviser, a role she performs as a cabinet minister.

Her email was then passed on to senior civil servants and special advisers.

Findlay told MSPs on Wednesday that the memo "smacks of corruption".

He said it had given the SNP a "clear" advantage ahead of May's Holyrood election and claimed it "endangered the lord advocate's position of neutrality".

At First Minister's Questions on Thursday, Findlay again questioned the lord advocate's neutrality and repeated his claim that the memo "smacks of corruption".

He called for her dual role to be scrapped, saying it posed an "inherent conflict of interest".

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar - who had earlier claimed that the memo had given the SNP a political advantage - said the explanations offered by Swinney and Bain were "not credible".

The lord advocate told parliament that she was able to send the memo because the indictment could become public at any point after it had been served to Murrell.

However, opposition MSPs noted that after the email had been sent, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) had told journalists that details of the indictment could not be published until a preliminary hearing.

Sarwar accused the lord advocate of giving "inaccurate and contradictory information" to MSPs.

Swinney insisted he had "absolute confidence" in Bain, who he described as an "outstanding" lawyer of "unimpeachable service".

The first minister said Findlay should be "ashamed of himself and should withdraw every word of contemptible rubbish he has put on the record".

The lord advocate has rejected accusations of corruption and conferring political advantage.

Commenting on the criticism of Bain, defence lawyer Thomas Ross told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast: "The current lord advocate has practised at the Scottish bar for 40 years. She's had a stellar career.

"She's trusted by every practising lawyer and every judge in the country and for her to be accused of corruption without a shred of evidence to support it was one of the most shameful episodes I've seen in that building.

"And I hope that now everything's calmed now the Scottish Conservatives are big enough to apologise for making that slur."

Roddy Dunlop KC, dean of the faculty of advocates, said: "The lord advocate has, throughout her distinguished legal career, always evinced the highest level of ethical conduct, and espoused the core values of the independence of the bar.

"Suggestions of corruption on her part are very serious and, on the evidence available, entirely baseless."

He urged MSPS not to "denigrate or damage the rule of law or those that are there to protect it."

Defending her actions on Wednesday, Bain told MSPs that she had written the memo to inform Swinney about a major development in the case and to remind ministers not to comment on live proceedings.

Separately, the lord advocate rebuked Sarwar in a letter responding to his claims that she had given the SNP a political advantage.

Bain accused him of making "factual errors" in his comments, and said she had to correct them to "protect the rule of law".

Ross said the lord advocate was right to inform Swinney about a major development in the case in a bid to ensure that ministers did not make any comments about that might jeopardise proceedings.

He told the BBC it was perhaps not "strictly necessary" for Bain to provide the £460,000 figure, but said he was not surprised she had. Ross said he did not believe it gave Swinney a "political advantage".

However, he added that it was a "very bad idea" for the lord advocate to have a dual role as both government adviser and head of the prosecution service.

The dual role has long been controversial, but any change would require the UK government to amend the Scotland Act.

The Scottish government said last month it was considering the findings of an expert review into the role of Scotland's law officers.

The COPFS has repeatedly said Bain is not involved in prosecuting the Murrell case because it involves politicians.

She told MSPs: "I have had no involvement in this case and any suggestion that I am corrupt or my position is compromised I roundly reject."

The lord advocate said the memo had not been requested by the government and insisted ministers had not been granted "preferential access".

She also denied the email gave the government any "political advantage".

Murrell, the estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, stepped down as SNP chief executive in 2023 after more than two decades in the role.

He was charged with embezzlement in April 2024.

He is accused of embezzling £459,000 from the party between August 2010 and January 2023.

Details of a charge against him - including the illicit purchase of luxury goods, two cars and a motorhome, using party funds - were first reported in the media last week.