Scottish MP who took train rides with challenging Covid-19 symptoms when Sturgeon says he must resign

NICOLA STURGEON HAS repeated her call on disgraced MP Margaret Ferrier to resign for repeatedly violating coronavirus rules when traveling after developing symptoms.

The former SNP MP has said she will not resign despite backlash over her travels between Glasgow and Westminster with symptoms of Covid-19 and later testing positive for the virus.

Ferrier told the Scottish Sun that having the infection made her “act out of place” and she “panicked” before embarking on the 350-mile train journey back to Scotland.

The Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP, who was suspended by the SNP and withdrew the party whip over the saga, said she had no intention of withdrawing.

She told the newspaper: “This has been a terrible experience, but I will continue to fight for my constituents because that is who I am.”

But speaking on Sky News’s Sophie Ridge On Sunday, Sturgeon said the rape was “unacceptable” and that Ferrier should resign as a deputy.

The Scottish Prime Minister said: “It could not be clearer, you should resign from Parliament.

“The error in judgment in traveling hundreds of miles knowing that she had tested positive for Covid-19 was so significant and so unacceptable that I don’t think there is any other acceptable course of action for her.

“Today I have read your comments in the media, but I still hope that you do the right thing.

“Every day, I have to stand up and ask people across the country to do terribly difficult things, not to visit their loved ones, and right now I’m asking people to understand why they can’t go to a pub or a restaurant.

“And it is unacceptable that someone in his position has flagrantly ignored the rules in such a way and I cannot be more clear on that.

“It’s not acceptable and she should quit.”

In his interview with the Scottish Sun, Ferrier, 60, said he had received local support after the incident and that he “confessed and apologized profusely.”

He also spoke about the level of criticism he has received for the incident, adding: “You feel like you are receiving a lot of criticism from people who you thought were your colleagues or friends who would understand that it was an error in judgment. I do not deny it.

“People may be saying, ‘You should have known better, you’re a public figure.’ But at the end of the day it still hurts.

“So you think about all that hard work and dedication, did that just go away?”