A former SNP MP found guilty of stealing almost £25,000 from two Scottish independence groups has lost her appeal against her conviction.
Lawyers acting for Natalie McGarry, who was elected as Glasgow East MSP in 2015, had claimed in her appeal that her embezzlement trial was prejudiced by a “tsunami” of Twitter posts saying she was already guilty ahead of the full hearing. But on Thursday, the Court of Criminal Appeal rejected her appeal, confirming “there were strong enough safeguards in place” to give the 41-year-old a fair trial.
Lady Dorrian, who gave the judgment, compared the social media posts to “the modern day equivalent of gossip and tittle-tattle at the bus stop or the pub”. She said the jury was given “four-and-a-half pages” of instructions to “put out of their minds anything they may have read in the past about the accused or circumstances relating to the charges”.
