Former SNP MP Natalie McGarry has been found guilty of embezzling almost £25,000 while acting as treasurer for multiple political groups.
McGarry, who represented Glasgow East between 2015 and 2017, was convicted of two charges of embezzlement, totalling £24,635, after being accused of using money donated by Scottish independence supporters to pay for her own rent and shopping.
Current and former Scottish health secretaries Humza Yousaf and Jeane Freeman were among witnesses to testify during the six-week trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court, during which the 40-year-old denied both charges against her.
A jury found her guilty by a majority of embezzling £19,974 while treasurer of the Women for Independence (WFI) campaign group, between April 2013 and November 2015. Jurors deleted a sum of £1,026 from the charge.
She was also found guilty by a majority of a second charge of taking money between April 2014 and August 2015 when she was treasurer, secretary and convener of the Glasgow Regional Association of the SNP.
After the verdict, Sheriff Tom Hughes accused McGarry of a “significant breach of trust”, saying: “What you have been convicted of are a series of incidents which took place over a long period of time.
“It was not a one-off incident. There were a number of transactions carried out by you to allow you to carry out this crime.”
The court earlier heard that McGarry – who described the period surrounding the Scottish independence referendum as “quite chaotic” – had “panicked” when asked to submit receipts and invoices to show her spending for the WFI group.
McGarry said many of these receipts were not kept, particularly from the early years of the organisation when the group operated on “trust”.
The prosecution showed bank statements showing thousands of pounds worth of WFI funds being transferred into McGarry’s bank account, which she was accused of then spending on rent and shopping.
Prosecutor Alistair Mitchell told the court that, after one transfer on 29 April 201 – of £10,472.54 raised on an IndyGoGo fundraiser for WFI projects – the “first thing” McGarry did was make a rent payment, adding: “You had £50 in your account prior to that.”
After Thursday’s verdict, Sheriff Hughes said there “were lots of people contributing [to the crowdfunders] who really were not able to afford it”.
But McGarry had earlier denied transferring the payment specifically to pay her rent, saying: “I would not have used the money had I not legitimately spent the money. By this point in April, we had spent a lot of money sending out the [WFI] packs and purchasing other things. I was due money back from WFI.”
McGarry told the court she was “perfectly content that when these monies were paid I had already spent them on WFI purposes”.
Of payments made from her account to O2, Amigo Loans and clothing stores Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters, McGarry said: “I did have a life and I did spend money for things using the money that was given to me.”
McGarry denied that she was “skint”, despite evidence from witnesses claiming otherwise, including Mr Yousaf, who said he had given the former MP £600 to prevent her from being evicted from her house.
McGarry had also received £1500 to £1600 in cash each month from family members – including her aunt, Tricia Marwick, a former Holyrood presiding officer – which allowed her to pay for bills and support her campaigning, the court heard.
Jurors also heard that McGarry was reimbursing some members for travel expenses with WFI funds, but that this was not declared to the rest of the group to protect members who were not in a comfortable financial position.
“It was a delicate balance to know the financial position some women were in compared to others,” McGarry said. “Some were embarrassed by their financial situation and I didn’t think it was my place to expose that to anybody.”
She told the court it had been “overwhelming” trying to juggle her election campaign while also organising orders for merchandise for local pro-independence groups – which came directly into her personal email inbox.
The court was shown records of 24 events organised by local groups during a two-month period in the wake of the 2014 referendum, which McGarry said had created “phenomenal” demand for merchandise, with about £5,000 or £10,000 of expenses incurred on banners and badges.
Her lawyers admitted that her finances had been “disorganised”, but she denied both charges and alleged that a financial spreadsheet which accounted for her personal outgoings and WFI spending had been lost when police seized her phone.
Sheriff Hughes had told the 14 jurors that in order to convict McGarry, they would have to be confident beyond reasonable doubt that the funds were misappropriated and used dishonestly, and had instructed them to ignore the trial’s publicity and focus solely on the evidence presented in court.
Sheriff Hughes released McGarry on bail for background and social work reports. She is expected to appear for sentencing on 30 June.
Additional reporting PA
