NATALIE McGarry is at the centre of an investigation into thousands of pounds of unaccounted-for spending from an SNP account.
At a meeting of the SNP’s Glasgow Regional Association (GRA) last Tuesday, delegates shown end-of-year bank statements were told the party could not account for £4,127.62.
McGarry was convenor of the association from 2011 until last year and, as such, was the main signatory of the GRA’s bank account.
The missing money was marked “other payments” and The National understands there are no receipts for those payments.
Party members at the meeting were left furious when delegates were told to stop talking about the unaccounted-for money.
The National spoke to a number of delegates who were among about 40 in attendance.
One source said: “The discussion was interrupted and delegates were told: ‘Enough, shut this down’.”
The GRA is struggling to transfer bank accounts to the new office bearers. The National understands McGarry is not engaging with the association and is holding up the process.
Sources say she is not responding to phone calls and emails asking for help and requesting receipts. McGarry’s apparent refusal to help means the party is struggling to obtain the full accounts from the bank.
“The treasurer has spoken to the bank and got some of the details, but he’s not able to see some of the copies of the bank statements until it’s all sorted,” a source said.
McGarry was elected as the SNP MP for Glasgow East in May last year. She resigned the party whip in November when Women For Independence went to police over money missing from their accounts.
McGarry, who was in charge of finance of the group, was unable to account for about £30,000 of missing donations. After months of questioning by members of WFI she eventually donated £6,000 of her own money.
The MP has always insisted she has done nothing wrong.
McGarry was not available for comment. Her solicitor directed The National to the SNP, who did not respond to our request for a comment.
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