NATALIE McGarry has resigned the SNP whip after claims she is at the centre of a police investigation into the disappearance of least £30,000 from the accounts of Women For Independence (WFI).

In a statement from her lawyer, Aamer Anwar, the MP said withdrawing from the party whip was in the best interests of her constituents.

“Natalie McGarry MP has decided to withdraw from the party whip although she is fully aware that this will lead to automatic suspension from the SNP.

“She has taken this step in the best interests of the party and the constituents of the east end who voted for her.”

Anwar said McGarry “maintains she has done nothing wrong” but knew that allegations were “distracting from the job she was elected to do on behalf of the SNP”. He added McGarry was innocent until proven guilty and Police Scotland has not yet “even established whether criminality is involved”.

Anwar said he had instructed forensic accountants to “obtain all the necessary information” to assist WFI and Police Scotland to reach “a swift conclusion”.

The lawyer’s comments were echoed by an SNP spokesperson who said McGarry resigning the whip would see her membership of the party suspended until the investigation was over.

The spokesperson said: “Natalie McGarry has taken this step in order to allow the full and proper investigation of the issue. She now hopes that the investigation can proceed as quickly as possible, is clear that there has been no wrongdoing on her part, and will not be commenting further until the matter is resolved.”

Last night, WFI rejected accusations they had covered up the financial discrepancies to save embarrassing the SNP.

The National understands that WFI first asked McGarry for a copy of the accounts so they could be audited last October.

Despite repeatedly asking McGarry, she was never able to present them to the national committee.

Offers were made to pass the responsibility for the accounts to a chartered accountant, also in WFI, when McGarry was selected to fight the General Election, but she rejected that offer.

At the WFI’s AGM in March,

McGarry, in her report, said audited accounts would be produced. Despite repeated requests the accounts were never presented.

A WFI source said there were initially no suspicions, and that it was about trying to get information together on income and expenditure so a set of accounts could be properly audited and put on the record.

“It was in the course of that and the absence of information and not being able to get it that we got to a position where we had nowhere else to go with except to hand it to the police,” the source said.

When asked if WFI passed its concerns on the SNP, The National’s source said: “What are we supposed to say? One of your candidates is really f*****g annoying?”

The source insisted WFI was a “non-party political organisation”.