Natalie McGarry: Humza Yousaf says he gave ex-MP loan

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf told the jury he loaned £600 to Natalie McGarry and she later paid the money back

Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf told a jury he loaned ex-MP Natalie McGarry money to stop her being evicted from her home.

Mr Yousaf transferred £600 into Ms McGarry's account after she came to his office in a "distressed" state in February 2014.

The court heard she had been threatened with losing her property that day.

Ms McGarry, 40, denies embezzling £25,000 from two pro-independence campaign groups.

The ex-SNP MP for Glasgow East allegedly embezzled £21,000 while she was treasurer for Women for Independence (WFI) between 26 April 2013 and 30 November 2015.

A second charge states Ms McGarry took £4,661 between 9 April 2014 and 10 August 2015 while treasurer, secretary and convenor of the Glasgow Regional Association.

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In his evidence, Mr Yousaf recalled the moment Ms McGarry arrived at his constituency office in West Nile Street, Glasgow, and spoke to his office manager, Shona McAlpine.

He told Glasgow Sheriff Court: "She came to my office in a state of distress.

"I asked her what was wrong and she told me she was threatened with being evicted that day if she didn't come up with around the sum of £600 and she didn't have the money at that point."

Mr Yousaf said he could not remember the reason why Ms McGarry and her partner did not have access to the funds.

He added: "I offered to give her a loan of funds about the £600 mark from the bank across the road.

"I made the transaction and the money was returned roughly in the timescale."

'Disorganised' and 'overdramatic'

Asked by prosecutor Alistair Mitchell if there was a discussion on the source of the funds being used to pay the money back, the health secretary replied: "No."

Mr Mitchell showed a bank statement which stated that money was paid back to Mr Yousaf in April 2014.

Allan Macleod, defending, put it to Mr Yousaf that Ms McGarry had not gone directly to the witness and asked for cash.

The lawyer suggested that Mr Yousaf had overheard a telephone call between Ms McGarry and Miss McAlpine then a later conversation between the two in person at his office.

Mr Yousaf agreed and said he then had a conversation with Ms McGarry where he discussed loaning the money.

Asked if it was fair to describe Ms McGarry as "disorganised" and "overdramatic."

Mr Yousaf replied: "Yes."

The trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court is expected to last up to six weeks

Ms McGarry's friend Jonathan Mackie told the court he was repeatedly sent money by Ms McGarry who "misplaced" her bank card so he could take money out of the bank to give to her.

The witness initially believed this happened on "five or six" occasions but he told the jury that he was informed by the police that this took place 13 times.

Mr Mackie claimed that he visited Ms McGarry and her partner after WFI released a statement regarding the ongoing issues between them.

He stated that he offered to let Ms McGarry and her partner stay at his nearby property for two nights.

Mr Mitchell asked what Ms McGarry's demeanour was like that night.

'Concerned for her welfare'

He replied: "She was quite rational at the start trying to work out a strategy of how to fight it.

"Over the course of the night she was being emotional and was in complete bits crying a lot.

"As that evening went on, she was saying 'let's fight this'."

He later said: "I cleared the spare bedroom and obviously put kitchen knives away as I was concerned for her welfare."

The witness claimed that he then found out Ms McGarry had taken out a loan with Amigo Loans.

He said: "This was past her being elected after May 2015 - that's what was surprising.

"I knew how much she earned after tax and the idea would be if you need a payday loan to get you through to pay day as the name suggests - it was just crackers."

Blank cheque

Mr Macleod put it to Mr Mackie that the loan was not a "payday loan" but £5,000 she took out from Amigo over a five-year period in December 2013.

The court also heard from former WFI employee Kezia Kinder, who said Ms McGarry had dropped off a blank cheque to colleague Kathleen Caskie.

The witness, 29, stated that Ms Caskie was asked by Ms McGarry to fill out the income and expenses for the pair.

Ms Kinder said: "Kathleen put however much it was and put it into her bank account and gave me cash for my expenses."

When asked by Mr Mitchell if she knew she was being paid from Ms McGarry's personal bank account, Ms Kinder replied: "No."

She also said she had experienced issues with regard to receiving her wages on time, and agreed - when put to her - that it was characteristic of WFI at the time.

The trial, before Sheriff Tom Hughes, continues.