A powerful Westminster committee is under growing pressure to launch a probe into the fallout from the Peter Murrell scandal after John Swinney rejected calls to allow a meaningful Holyrood inquiry.

The Scottish Affairs Committee was urged to look into key aspects of the scandal including how Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband was allowed to steal from the SNP and potentially taxpayers for so long.

The First Minister also rejected calls to confront a ‘culture of secrecy and cover-up’ by allowing a meaningful Holyrood inquiry which covers the implications and lessons for key institutions like the Crown Office, Police Scotland and the Scottish Government.

Earlier this week, the Scottish Affairs Committee delayed a decision on whether to undertake work on the issue until after MSPs decided whether to launch their own inquiry.

But SNP and Green MSPs voted against a probe into Murrell’s embezzlement of more than £400,000 and how police and prosecutors responded and instead backed only an ‘independent review’ into party finance which will ignore his crimes and the SNP culture.

Tory MP Andrew Bowie, the Shadow Scottish Secretary, said: ‘Nobody was surprised to see John Swinney’s Green little helpers line up to save his skin and block any inquiry into the crooked Peter Murrell taking place at Holyrood. That scandalous decision has made it even more crucial that the Scottish Affairs Committee step in and launch their own investigation into Murrell’s criminal spending spree.’

At First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said institutions like the Crown Office, Police Scotland, HM Revenue and Customs and the Scottish Legal Aid Board must face questions on ‘why a wealthy man who owns property abroad and says he has the means to immediately pay back £400,000 had access to legal aid’ and urged Mr Swinney to work with other parties to ensure this is covered in the terms of reference for the independent review.

But Mr Swinney claimed Labour is ‘trying to score grubby political points’ and opposed an independent or parliamentary inquiry.

Mr Sarwar said: ‘Governance of the SNP is for John Swinney and the SNP, but scrutiny of government and our institutions is for parliament and for parliamentarians – in fact that is our duty. So can I ask John Swinney is he prepared to confront a culture of secrecy and cover-up and put country before party by agreeing the terms of a meaningful inquiry?’

Mr Swinney said he has made a case for something ‘that failed in parliament yesterday’ and urged him to ‘accept the democratic outcomes that take their course’.

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said Mr Swinney ‘doesn’t want to know if Peter Murrell stole taxpayers’ money, the terms of his plea deal or why Nicola Sturgeon wasn’t prosecuted’. 

He also cited the case of Margaret Killah, who died aged 84 in 2020 and left the SNP £20,000 in her will. He said Mr Murrell told her solicitor ‘to deal only with him’ and that her executor said she would have backed a parliamentary inquiry, saying ‘we will never know if Peter Murrell stole her money’. Mr Swinney said he will ‘make sure’ losses ‘are repaid’ as soon as possible.

A spokesman for the Scottish Affairs Committee said no further comment will be issued at this time. In his letter sent to the Electoral Commission, SNP Parliamentary Business Minister Jamie Hepburn asked it to carry out an ‘impartial review of all political parties in the UK’.

The letter made no reference to any fallout from the Peter Murrell scandal.