Former SNP MP who embezzled more than £25,000 jailed for 18 months
Natalie McGarry splashed stolen money on rent, a holiday to Spain, transfers to her husband and other lifestyle spending, court hears
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Your support makes all the difference.A former SNP MP who embezzled thousands of pounds from pro-independence groups has been jailed for 18 months.
Natalie McGarry, 37, admitted embezzling more than £25,600 which she spent on rent, a holiday to Spain, transfers of money to her husband and other lifestyle spending, Glasgow Crown Court heard.
She pleaded guilty to two charges of embezzlement at court on 24 April but later tried to withdraw the pleas, which she was refused.
On Thursday, she was jailed for 18 months by Sheriff Paul Crozier.
Allan Macleod, representing McGarry, said she continued to maintain her innocence.
He said she had mental health issues over the years, including depression and anxiety and also suffered from post-partum depression following the birth of her daughter in November 2017.
McGarry sobbed in the dock as her lawyer told the court that earlier this week she suffered a “devastating” miscarriage while six weeks pregnant.
Mr Macleod said: “She describes her life as almost intolerable. Two weeks ago she considered that life could not get any worse, and then it did.
“She was pregnant and miscarried, that happened on Sunday and that is something that for her has been absolutely devastating.
“She is at the lowest point in her life she has ever been. Her career is ruined, her reputation is in tatters, she has lost friends, colleagues, her reputation and job, and now her child.”
Mr Macleod said the family’s finances were in a “perilous” state and that McGarry’s main concern was for her daughter, who is 18 months old.
He said her husband has two jobs, one at unsociable hours, to support them.
McGarry was elected as an SNP member in 2015 but resigned the party whip after the fraud allegations - which she denied at the time - emerged and continued on in parliament as an independent.
She was charged by police in 2017 over fraud relating to potential missing funds from Women for Independence, which was set up in the run-up to the 2014 Scottish referendum, and the SNP’s Glasgow Regional Association.
McGarry, who represented Glasgow East, did not seek re-election in 2017.
Press Association contributed to this report