SNP MP Margaret Ferrier suspended for travelling after positive Covid test
An SNP MP who travelled from Westminster to Scotland after a positive Covid-19 test has been suspended from her party and is facing calls to resign.
SNP frontbencher Margaret Ferrier apologised “unreservedly” for breaching the restrictions.
In a statement posted on Twitter last night the MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West said: “I deeply regret my actions. I take full responsibility and I would urge everyone not to make the same mistakes that I have”.
Ferrier took a test on Saturday after developing symptoms but travelled 400 miles to London by train on Monday. She then briefly addressed the House of Commons during a debate on coronavirus.
She paid tribute to “all NHS key workers and volunteers in my constituency for their care and commitment over the past seven months”.
That evening she was told she had tested positive and returned to Scotland the following morning knowing she had the virus.
She is now facing a police investigation and risks a £4,000 fine for “reckless” behaviour.
The SNP claim Ferrier had alerted the chief whip she had tested positive on Wednesday and the party alerted the Commons.
The party’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford stripped the MP of the whip and Nicola Sturgeon called her actions “utterly indefensible”.
Some colleagues have called on Ferrier to resign following the revelation last night. Glasgow East MP David Linden said: “I don’t think her position is tenable and she should resign”, while Aberdeen North MP Kirsty Blackman tweeted: “I agree with David Linden. Margaret Ferrier must resign… Margaret’s actions cannot be overlooked.”
Others accused Ferrer of hypocrisy, noting that she had previously claimed Dominic Cummings’ position was “untenable” after travelling to Durham earlier this year.
Commons authorities have asked just one person who she had close contact with Ferrier to self-isolate, and a deep-clean has been launched.