Cops probing SNP funds hunted for a women’s razor and a wheelbarrow at Nicola Sturgeon’s home.
The household items were on the police most-wanted list as they raided the house the former first minister shares with her husband Peter Murrell.
The bizarre items were contained on a warrant which lays out the purchases sought by police in their probe – which saw them launch raids on the home Nicola Sturgeon shares with her husband Peter Murrell and party HQ.
The SNP is reeling from a Police Scotland investigation into how around £600,000 of IndyRef2 donations were spent.
Ex-SNP treasurer Colin Beattie and former party chief executive Peter Murrell were arrested and then released without charge.
Sturgeon’s family home and the party headquarters were raided last month in an escalation of the probe. The Record understands the police warrant in the case is over 100 pages long.
A woman’s razor and wheelbarrow are among many basic household items under the police microscope – with pots and pans, a luxury pen and jewellery already among items seized.
It is not known if the items were found as part of the raids.
A pack of 10 disposable female’s razors at Superdrug fetch for as little as £1.50, while a higher end product is on sale at Boots for £19.99.
It is unclear what type of wheelbarrow the police have been trying to locate but a standard one is on sale at Amazon for £33.99.
Various purchases have been seized so far during Operation Branchform, such as a £110,000 luxury motorhome that was parked outside the home of Murrell’s elderly mum.
The vehicle was delivered in January 2021 and the Record was told it was bought for the Holyrood election but never used.
Cops have also been trying to find burner phones, and are probing the purchase of luxury pots and pans as well as a fridge freezer as part of the investigation.
Last night, questions were raised about the search for cheap household items.
Former SNP media chief Murray Foote said: “Some of these items are more likely to be on a
shopping list than on Interpol’s most wanted.
“The hunt for a lady’s razor does make you wonder if the police are investigating a bad case of botched beauty treatment.
“However, we must accept that even though these items of interest may seem bizarre, the police have included them in their inquiry.
“Whether they are relevant to the fraud investigation or they have entirely innocent explanations, only time will tell.”
Foote, who quit his post over an SNP membership scandal, also blasted the cop probe in the Record on Thursday. He said: “The use of forensic tents and a whole platoon of plod at the house turned a routine process into a grotesque circus, compounded by the storming of SNP HQ.
“Police diligently going about their business is one thing. What happened at FM’s home is something else entirely.”
Speculation has swirled around whether Sturgeon will be questioned by cops but no interview has taken place yet.
She told media recently that recent events had been “traumatic” but denied the police probe had influenced her decision to quit as SNP leader and First Minister.
Last night, opposition MSPs described the revelations about ladies’ razors and wheelbarrows being hunted as “weird”. Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said:
"This story gets stranger and stranger by the day. Scots will be utterly bemused by the weird twists and turns that this case is taking.
“This might be a close shave for the SNP – but it is an embarrassment for the people of Scotland.”
Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine said: “This is yet another distraction for our rookie First Minister [Sturgeon's successor Humza Yousaf].
"When I’ve been out knocking on doors, people are horrified by the chaos engulfing the SNP and the disintegration of public services and that includes many former SNP voters."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “As the investigation is ongoing we are unable to comment further.”
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