FORMER MP Natalie McGarry has appeared in court charged with six offences in connection with alleged fraud.

Ms McGarry, 36, was one of 56 SNP MPs elected in 2015’s General Election landslide.

But she resigned the party whip just six months later amid allegations related to a five-figure sum missing from the Women for Independence group and the SNP’s Glasgow Regional Association.

She appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court in private, facing three charges of embezzlement, two charges of inaccurate spending returns and failure to disclose “encryted electronic data”.

Read more: Glasgow SNP MP Natalie McGarry must be suspended says Labour

Ms McGarry – who appeared under her married name Natalie Meikle – was elected as the SNP member for Glasgow East in May 2015. She has previously denied any wrongdoing.

During 2014, Ms McGarry was active in the Women for Independence group (WFI), which she helped found in 2012.

She was then selected as the SNP candidate for Glasgow East in the 2015 general election, going on to defeat Labour’s Margaret Curran by 10,387 votes.

Read more: Glasgow SNP MP Natalie McGarry must be suspended says Labour

However in November 2015, WFI called in the police after reporting around £40,000 had gone missing from donations largely raised through crowdfunding campaigns.