A FULL appeal hearing for an East Renfrewshire woman convicted of embezzling almost £25,000 from pro-independence groups has been set for next month.

Natalie McGarry, 41, was jailed for two years last June after she was found guilty of taking £19,974 while treasurer of Women for Independence and £4,661 while treasurer and convener of the Glasgow Regional Association of the SNP.

The former MP was granted leave to appeal against her conviction and sentence in December.

At a virtual procedural hearing of the appeal court in Edinburgh today, lawyers confirmed the full appeal hearing will go ahead in February.

Last May, a jury found McGarry guilty by majority of a charge of embezzling the cash from Women for Independence between April 2013 and November 2015.

The charge relating to her time at the Glasgow Regional Association of the SNP covered the period between April 2014 and August 2015.

The Crown launched proceeds of crime proceedings against McGarry after she was sentenced, seeking to ensure that profits obtained through criminal conduct are confiscated.

McGarry, from Clarkston, was elected as an SNP MP in 2015 but resigned the party whip after the emergence of fraud allegations, which she denied.

She continued in Parliament as an independent MP, representing Glasgow East, but did not seek re-election in 2017.