AN MP charged with fraud offences by police has confirmed she will not seek re-election.
Glasgow East MP Natalie McGarry was elected as an SNP member in 2015.
She resigned the party whip following the fraud allegations and now sits as an independent.
She was charged by the police last year over alleged fraud relating to potential missing funds from the group 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 revealed last week that she is pregnant after collapsing in a Commons’ tearoom, confirmed her decision not to stand at next month’s General Election on her Facebook page yesterday.
She wrote: “It has been a huge honour and a privilege to have served and represented the people of Glasgow East in the House of Commons for the last two years.
“I have, however, decided not to seek re-election.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many, many local people who have helped and supported me throughout that time.”
Her decision follows the SNP’s national executive committee ruling on Saturday she was ineligible for reselection, a move she said was of “no surprise” to her.
The committee also ruled former SNP MP Michelle Thomson ineligible for reselection.
She was elected for the party in Edinburgh West in 2015 but withdrew from the party whip later that year amid an ongoing police investigation into property deals.
She had already confirmed she will not contest the election as an independent and expressed disappointment with the party’s decision.
She said following the committee decision: “After careful consideration, I have decided not to stand again at this time and I would encourage all the political parties to avoid personal smears and instead focus on what people really want to hear about.”
SNP activist David Linden and former North Lanarkshire councillor Rosa Zambonini want the the Glasgow seat. SNP bosses will select who will go forward. The Glasgow East constituency is due to be the safest of the five seats to be challenged by the SNP that is not already held by the party.
In May 2015 McGarry beat former Labour minister Margaret Curran by 10,387 votes in what was once a safe Labour heartland.
Last week, McGarry was treated by ambulance staff after fainting at Westminster.
She later confirmed that she was pregnant, and that medical staff had been called as a precaution. The police investigation into her centred on her involvement with Women for Independence (WFI), which was set up to campaign ahead of the referendum in September 2014.
WFI called in police after spotting apparent discrepancies between donations made to the organisation and its expenditure.
The allegations are believed to involve a five-figure sum of money.
McGarry and Thomson, who was reported to prosecutors last year after a police investigation into allegations of mortgage fraud, deny any wrongdoing. Both were among MPs who voted last week against a General Election on June 8.
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