A BRITISH columnist has called the search of Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon’s home “over the top” with “no justification for staging a heavy-handed dawn raid”.
In the piece, published under the headline “Even I am appalled at McPlod’s raid on Wee Burney”, Richard Littlejohn gave an overview of the Murrell investigation before focusing on the behaviour of Police Scotland seen across the UK during the week.
Littlejohn described Scotland as “Two Doors Down country, not Mar-a-Lago” when questioning the number of police officers present at Murrell’s home over two days and said there was “no justification for staging a heavy-handed dawn raid”.
He added: “Police Scotland seem to have taken their cue from the FBI raid on Donald Trump’s compound in Palm Beach, Florida, last summer.
"Welcome to Mac-a-Lago.”
Littlejohn writes a twice-weekly column for the British tabloid from his home in Florida and has previously written for the Spectator.
He clarifies in the column that he has “nothing but contempt for Sturgeon” as well as Murrell, however he “is entitled to due process — not a show trial in the court of public opinion, courtesy of Police Scotland”.
The columnist goes on to ask why the Murrell case is “such a priority”, where the resources for the search are coming from when Police Scotland has suffered heavy budget cuts, as well as question what officers were looking for.
Littlejohn writes: “Dozens of officers were involved, carrying spades and tarpaulin sheets, hauling away boxes of ‘evidence’, even searching a barbecue grill at one stage.
"They searched the house from top to bottom, looking for what exactly? No doubt they also trawled through Nicola’s knicker drawer. CSI-style crime scene tape sealed off the property as burly, grim-faced McPlods in ubiquitous hi-viz jackets stood guard.
"Yesterday morning, there were still 20 coppers on the scene. Doing what, precisely?”
A number of Daily Mail subscribers agreed with Littlejohn in the comments. One wrote: “it appeared to be an intrusive look at their home” whilst another highlighted the “misreporting” during the search.
