Lord advocate again defends her actions over Murrell memos

Scotland's top law official has again defended her actions over memos sent to John Swinney about the criminal case against former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell.

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain appeared in Scottish Parliament chamber for the second time in just over a week after it emerged that Swinney was first given details of the scale of embezzlement charges in March 2025.

It was previously thought that the government was first told of the sum last month.

Bain denied suggestions from the Scottish Conservatives that she had been misleading in her earlier statement to MSPs and insisted it was normal for the first minister to be made aware of major investigations and court cases.

Bain had appeared at the Holyrood chamber last week, where she confirmed that details of the Murrell case were shared with Swinney in January 2026.

Following that appearance, files were released by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) on Tuesday which prompted a new row.

The March 2025 letter to the government was included in a list of almost 30 cases which the lord advocate has updated either the Scottish or UK governments over the past three decades.

Scottish Conservative MSP Stephen Kerr claimed her failure to mention this memo during her earlier appearance showed that her answers were "incomplete and therefore misleading to Parliament".

Kerr continued: "The first minister was in possession of information that was not in the public domain.

"There was no reason for the first minister to be given this information regarding a politically sensitive court case"

Bain's explanation was that when she was called to the chamber last week she had not "in the time available before answering the urgent question, seen the March 2025 document".

She added: "I had not seen the document since it was sent."

The lord advocate continued to insist she had acted appropriately.

She said that she "does not brief political parties," but does advise" constitutional office holders of information they require to be aware of".

Included in the bundle of cases released in the COPFS documents were those related to Glasgow Airport terror attack, the death of Sheku Bayoh, the Lockerbie bombing, the deaths of two inmates in Polmont Young Offenders Institute and the offending history of Stephen Gough, known as the naked rambler.

Bain said: "As I have explained the lord advocate of the day may provide the first minister of the day, or indeed prime minister or other minister, with appropriate information on case work or investigations.

"This is done irrespective of the political party of the recipient of the information. It is done in the proper administration of the legal system."

Her comments came after Swinney said it was "entirely appropriate" for her to give information to him on the "sensitive" case.

Murrell is facing a charge of embezzling almost £460,000 from the SNP over a 12-year period. He has made no plea and is due to appear in court on 25 May.