A SENIOR SNP activist has spoken for the first time about how she helped expose fraudster Natalie McGarry.

In an exclusive interview with The Herald on Sunday, Kathleen Caskie – a former colleague of McGarry in the Women for Independence (WFI) campaign – revealed:

- It was Jeane Freeman, now Scottish Government Health Secretary, who handed a dossier of evidence on the former MP to the police.

- She believes McGarry may have embezzled up to £40,000 from WFI.

- The SNP did not initially believe WFI and Caskie alleges that the office of a Nationalist MSP made defamatory claims against the group.

- She would be able to forgive McGarry if she took responsibility for her actions.

The former MP, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison this week for embezzlement, transferred cash from fund-raising events into her personal bank account and failed to pass on money intended for a foodbank.

Caskie said she and colleagues took the decision to report McGarry to police knowing “it would ruin her career and probably end up in a jail sentence. So that was fairly monumental”.