Estranged husband of former Scottish leader pleads guilty to embezzlement

The estranged husband of former Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon pleaded guilty Monday to embezzling more than 400,000 pounds ($540,000) from the Scottish National Party to fund a lavish lifestyle when he was its chief executive. Peter Murrell, 61, who was remanded into custody in the High Court in Edinburgh after his plea, admitted he used the money to buy a motorhome, two cars and luxury goods. “By embezzling from the SNP, Peter Murrell was stealing the hopes, the dreams and the aspirations of thousands of people all over Scotland, people who gave what they could over many years in the hope that it would help contribute to a better country,” SNP leader John Swinney said at a press conference. "I am horrified, I am betrayed.” Murrell's plea caps a five-year police investigation and a tumultuous period for Scotland's dominant party and the former power couple once at its helm. Following big gains for the SNP in the Scottish Parliament in 2021, signs of internal turmoil exploded less than two years later as questions swirled about the SNP’s finances and dwindling membership numbers. Sturgeon, who dominated Scottish politics for almost a decade, abruptly resigned as first minister of Scotland’s semi-autonomous government in February 2023 after serving more than eight years in the role. Observers were bewildered by her announcement that she knew in her “head and in my heart” that it was the right time to go. A month later, Murrell quit his job after two decades as party executive. He took responsibility for misleading the news media about the collapsing membership of the party. Three weeks later, police showed up at the couple's Glasgow home and arrested Murrell. Officers spent two days searching the house. They also searched SNP headquarters in Edinburgh and confiscated a luxury motorhome parked in the driveway at Murrell’s mother's home north of the capital. Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Houston said the investigation, which cost 2 million pounds ($2.7 million) in public funds, was lengthy and complex because Murrell covered his tracks over a 12-year period by cooking the books. “Peter Murrell has shown utter contempt for the high public trust placed in him,” Houston said. “He abused his privileged position with access to Scottish National Party funds to divert cash into his own accounts and bankroll the lavish lifestyle he craved but could not afford.” Sentencing was scheduled for June 23. Police Scotland's investigation into how the SNP spent more than 600,000 pounds ($810,000) designated for a Scottish independence campaign cast a cloud over the party, Sturgeon and her legacy.

Philippine House votes to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte

An overwhelming majority of the House of Representatives of the Philippines voted to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday over alleged unexplained wealth and threats to have the president assassinated, as the rift between the camps of the country’s top two officials escalated. The House, which is dominated by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s allies, voted 257-25 with nine abstentions. The two impeachment complaints against Duterte, which will now be elevated to the Senate for a trial, mark an initial setback to her plan to seek the presidency in 2028. Shortly before the impeachment vote in the House, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who had vowed to immediately put the vice president to trial, was ousted by 13 of 24 senators, including supporters of the vice president and her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte. It’s not immediately clear how the vice president’s impending impeachment trial would be affected by the Senate leadership change, but Sotto told reporters that he and his allies in the Senate would insist that the proceedings against the vice president should be immediately taken up once submitted. A standoff in the Senate A tense standoff ensued when Sen. Roland dela Rosa, a supporter of former President Duterte, who is facing trial before the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands, suddenly appeared in the Senate after months of absence. National Bureau of Investigation officers tried to run after dela Rosa but failed to reach him as he dashed into the Senate’s plenary hall and sought the protection of fellow senators. Rodrigo Duterte was arrested in March last year and detained in the Netherlands on charges of crimes against humanity. The charges are in connection with deadly anti-drugs crackdowns he ordered while he was in office. Dela Rosa once served as the national police chief under Duterte, and was the first to enforce the bloody campaign against illegal drugs that left thousands of mostly petty suspects dead. Philippine police officials have summoned dela Rosa to appear before them for an investigation into his role in the Duterte-era killings. Duterte had survived an impeachment bid last year The vice president has generally denied any wrongdoing without answering the criminal allegations against her in detail. Her lawyers said Monday they were ready to defend her in a trial. “While questions of constitutional significance remain pending before the Supreme Court, we are fully prepared to defend the vice president before the Senate,” the lawyers said in a statement, adding that “it is incumbent upon the prosecution to discharge the burden of proof.” She has repeatedly accused Marcos, his wife and his cousin, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, of corruption, weak leadership and attempting to muzzle her because of speculation she may seek the presidency in 2028 when Marcos’ six-year term ends. Last year, she was also impeached by the House but survived by successfully petitioning the Supreme Court to declare the impeachment bid unconstitutional on a technicality. Rep. Gerville Luistro, who heads the House Justice Committee, said the impeachment complaints included several criminal allegations, like huge bank transactions over the years that Duterte has not declared as required by law and misuse of confidential funds of her office as vice president and as education secretary, a post she once held under Marcos. Luistro also cited threats made by the vice president during an online news conference in 2024 to have Marcos, his wife and Romualdez killed by an assassin if she herself was assassinated, as their political disputes escalated. The vice president then warned that her threat wasn’t a joke. The vice president later said she wasn’t threatening him but was expressing concern for her own safety. Her threatening remarks set off a criminal investigation and national security concerns. The vice president’s husband, Manases Carpio, has filed criminal complaints against Luistro and other legislators and officials after government records of the couple’s bank transactions were made public in a recent House hearing. They said that violated the country’s bank secrecy law. The vice president remains popular, based on independent surveys. Sara Duterte and President Marcos were running mates in a whirlwind alliance in the 2022 election but have since had a bitter falling out. She has accused Marcos of allowing the ICC to carry out what she described as the “kidnapping” of her father in violation of Philippine laws.