Former SNP MP refused permission to appeal embezzlement sentence
But Natalie McGarry will still be allowed to appeal against her conviction
A former SNP MP jailed for embezzling more than £25,000 from pro-independence groups has been refused leave to appeal against her sentence.
But Natalie McGarry still has permission to appeal against her conviction - despite pleading guilty.
She was sentenced to 18 months behind bars in June after admitting two charges of embezzlement in April but was freed days later pending a potential appeal.
The former MP spent the money on rent, a holiday to Spain with her husband, transfers of money to him and other lifestyle spending.
Her bid to withdraw the guilty pleas a week after she made them at Glasgow Sheriff Court was refused by Sheriff Paul Crozier.
She was granted leave to appeal against her conviction last month, with a procedural hearing set for late September in Edinburgh.
A full hearing will take place at a later stage.
The 37-year-old was refused leave to appeal against her sentence and her bid to have that decision overturned at the second stage of the sifting process for cases was not successful.
A Justiciary Office spokesman said: “Leave to appeal was refused in respect of sentence at the second sift.”
McGarry embezzled £21,000 from Women for Independence in her role as treasurer of the organisation between April 2013 and November 2015.
She also admitted embezzling £4,661.02 in the course of her role as treasurer, secretary and convener of the Glasgow Regional Association of the SNP between April 9 2014 and August 10 2015.
McGarry was elected as an SNP member in 2015 but resigned the party whip following the emergence of fraud allegations - which she denied at the time.
She continued in Parliament as an independent representing Glasgow East but did not seek re-election in 2017.
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