Peter Murrell, the former SNP chief executive jailed for embezzling more than £400,000 from the party, has had his legal aid withdrawn after the Scottish Legal Aid Board learned more about his finances. The board is expected to seek repayment of nearly £5,000 already paid for his defence counsel, and may also try to recover any solicitor’s fees it is required to cover.

Murrell was granted means-tested legal aid in April last year, but the board informed him and his solicitor on 28 July that funding was ending. Reported assets include pension pots worth about £613,000, a share in his former home valued at roughly £83,000, and a former part-share in a Portuguese villa sold for an estimated £350,000 to £500,000; the SNP also reportedly owed him £60,000. His solicitor’s fees could reach £30,000, while a hearing on recovering the embezzled money has been postponed from September to 7 December.