The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Shamed MP gets leave to appeal her conviction
Former SNP representative who admitted embezzlement set for hearing
A Fife-born former SNP MP jailed for embezzling more than £25,000 from local charities and groups has been granted leave to appeal against her conviction – despite her pleading guilty.
Natalie McGarry was sentenced to 18 months behind bars in June, after admitting two charges of embezzlement in April, but was freed days later pending a potential appeal.
She spent the money on rent, a holiday to Spain with her husband, transfers of money to him and other lifestyle spending.
McGarry, who had contested the Cowdenbeath Holyrood constituency in 2014 for the SNP before being elected an MP in Glasgow East the following year, stole £750 from a Perth foodbank, as well as embezzling thousands more from other organisations.
The organisers of the Perth foodbank said it would have been enough to feed at least 30 families.
Her bid to withdraw the guilty pleas a week after she made them at Glasgow Sheriff Court was refused by Sheriff Paul Crozier.
McGarry has now been granted leave to appeal against her conviction with a procedural hearing set for late September in Edinburgh, while a full hearing will take place at a later stage, the Justiciary Office said.
She was refused leave to appeal against her sentence but has applied to have that decision reconsidered at the second stage of the sifting process for cases.
McGarry embezzled £21,000 from Women for Independence (WFI) in her role as treasurer of the organisation between April 2013 and November 2015.
She also admitted embezzling £4,661.02 in the course of her role as treasurer, secretary and convener of the Glasgow Regional Association of the SNP between April 9 2014 and August 10 2015.
Suspicions were raised by activists from WFI, who initially gave McGarry the benefit of the doubt, believing she was disorganised, before the MP for Glasgow East began to block former friends on social media.
Funds went into a PayPal account controlled by McGarry, which she refused to hand over the password to, and another bank account.
Months after McGarry was elected as Glasgow East MP in May 2015, her former colleagues contacted police to raise their concerns – prepared to give evidence in court and knowing she could be jailed.
The 37-year-old resigned the party whip following the emergence of fraud allegations – which she denied at the time. She is no longer an MP.