The former Scottish National party MP Natalie McGarry has appeared in court on six charges relating to allegations that she embezzled tens of thousands of pounds in donations from Women for Independence (WFI), a campaign group she helped set up.
She appeared in private at Glasgow sheriff court on Wednesday morning under her married name, Natalie Meikle, and was charged with three counts of embezzlement, two charges under the Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013, and one charge under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
Court papers allege that McGarry embezzled more than £40,000, mainly from WFI but also from her local SNP association and the pro-independence group Yes Glasgow.
McGarry is alleged to have embezzled £33,011 between January 2012 and November 2015, while acting as treasurer for WFI.
It is claimed she transferred money raised through fundraising events into her personal account, and failed to transfer charitable donations to the Perth and Kinross food bank and to Positive Prison Positive Futures. She is also accused of using cheques, held in the name of Women for Independence, to deposit money into her own account.
She is also accused of submitting a false statement of referendum campaign expenditure and of failing to provide a passcode for a mobile phone seized from her by the police in August 2016.
She made no plea and was bailed awaiting a further court appearance.
McGarry was the MP for Glasgow East from 2015, but withdrew from the SNP whip when the allegations surfaced and did not seek re-election in 2017.
WFI was founded in 2012 by a group of activists to promote women’s voices across the Scottish independence referendum debate. During the referendum campaign she was a regular critic of sexist abuse online and became a well-regarded advocate for women’s concerns. Her selection to contest the key Labour/SNP battleground of Glasgow East marked her out as one of the SNP’s most promising new candidates.
She overturned the then shadow Scottish secretary Margaret Curran’s 11,840 majority in May 2015 and became one of 56 SNP candidates elected to Westminster.
Since the referendum, WFI has carved out a permanent position in Scottish civic society, campaigning on a range of issues, most recently period poverty, with more than 50 affiliated groups across Scotland, many of which are working on refugee rights and food poverty.
