An SNP candidate who stepped down due to an investigation into possible benefit fraud has been ordered to repay £19,000 in Adult Disability Payment.
Sally Donald withdrew as a candidate for Edinburgh Southern when news that she was being probed by the SNP's own social security agency broke.
Now, The Scotsman has revealed she is liable to repay £19,000 of ADP she was not entitled to claim.
The 32-year-old could still appeal the findings of the investigation, which may yet be referred to the Crown Office for a possible criminal prosecution.
First Minister John Swinney told FMQs he only became aware of the situation when contacted by The Scotsman for comment, but suggested the investigation into Ms Donald demonstrated that the system works.
Writing on social media in the wake of stepping down as an SNP candidate on Wednesday, Ms Donald said: ”While I strenuously deny any and all wrongdoing, I do not want recent reporting to distract any further from the excellent campaign being run in Edinburgh Southern.”
Ms Donald grabbed headlines in 2022 when she joked on social media about being "aboard the SNP gravy bus".
Opposition parties have been highly critical of both Ms Donald and the benefits system.
Scottish Conservative social security spokesman Alexander Stewart MSP, The Scotsman reports, said: “This disgraced SNP candidate must do the right thing and repay the huge sum of money she wrongly claimed from the taxpayer.
“The fact that she was able to milk the Nationalists’ benefits system for so long exposes how soft touch it is."
Scottish Labour Deputy Leader Jackie Baillie said "These jaw-dropping revelations show that the SNP simply don't think the rules apply to them.
"Scotland deserves to know what safeguards are in place to stop people making false claims at Social Security Scotland.”