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Margaret Ferrier, the deputy who broke Covid’s rules, held onto her post throughout Friday despite loud calls to resign from SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon and other politicians.
Downing Street was the only one who did not call for the resignation of the Scottish MP, who spoke at the Commons while awaiting the result of a coronavirus test and then traveled by train from London to Scotland after testing positive.
Having been suspended from the SNP on Thursday night, she found herself in an increasingly isolated position on Friday. Sturgeon on Friday urged the Rutherglen and Hamilton West member to resign, saying he had not offered a “compelling explanation” for what he described as “a monumental, almost incomprehensible error of judgment.” Labor also called for Ferrier to “do the right thing” and step down.
Ferrier has reported his actions to the police and the parliamentary standards commissioner. If convicted of a crime related to public health violations, or sanctioned by the Commons standards committee, she could face a revocation petition that, if signed by 10% of her constituents, would trigger a by-election.
On Friday night, the metropolitan police said they had launched an investigation. In a statement, the force said: “An investigation is under way into the reported violations of the 2020 Health Protection Regulation.”
SNP sources said party colleagues felt “cheated and betrayed” after Sturgeon confirmed that the MP initially told his Westminster colleagues that he was returning home because a family member was ill.
But, despite blatant breaches of coronavirus regulations in Scotland and England, Downing Street refused to call for Ferrier’s resignation, in contrast to the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Douglas Ross, who has called on the SNP to expel her. .
“The prime minister has made it clear that everyone must follow the rules to allow us to reduce the spread of the virus and protect lives,” said deputy spokesman for Boris Johnson. “We have been clear that people should isolate themselves when they have symptoms of coronavirus, if they test positive or if they are contacted through tests and tracing.”
When asked if this meant that Johnson thought Ferrier should resign, he said: “That is up to her and her party.”
UK Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick also refused to ask for Ferrier’s resignation, saying: “It’s up to her to decide what she wants to do. It would be wrong for her to comment on the police investigation.
Jenrick himself faced questions in April after The Guardian revealed that he had traveled 40 miles to his parents’ home in Shropshire during the lockdown after urging the public to stay home.
In an interview with the BBC, he was asked if political figures who disobeyed the coronavirus guidance, such as Ferrier, Dominic Cummings and, most recently, former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, made it difficult to apply public health messages because they gave the impression that the “Westminster club” was above the law.
Johnson’s father, Stanley, also recently apologized for violating coronavirus restrictions.
In a daily briefing dominated by questions about Ferrier, Sturgeon responded to “moralistic criticism of the SNP” by people who “completely lost their language when a certain special adviser in London broke the rules.”
When asked if Ferrier’s actions had reinforced the feeling that there is one rule for politicians and another for everyone else, Sturgeon said this was not the case. The Scottish Prime Minister said: “I insist that the consequences when a politician breaks the rules is as severe as when he is a member of the public…
“The most important relationship I have at the moment is with the Scottish public and I cannot ask them to make all these sacrifices if I am going to stay here trying to explain what Margaret Ferrier did.”
Sturgeon also provided a detailed timeline of how news of Ferrier’s rule violations emerged.
“I understand that the SNP in Westminster knew on Wednesday that he had tested positive, but believed that he had been tested once he had returned to Scotland,” the SNP leader said. “I understand that you had informed your colleagues on Monday evening that you were traveling back to Scotland because a family member may have been feeling unwell.
“It wasn’t until yesterday, and this information came through Commons’ test-and-trace mechanism, that colleagues realized she had been tested before traveling to London and then traveled back when told it was positive”.
Sturgeon said he first heard about the situation Thursday afternoon and was told that the Commons first wanted to release a statement confirming that a MP had Covid. “I made it clear that if that was to happen, Margaret should immediately issue a statement confirming that it was her and what the circumstances were.”
Sturgeon added: “I think the SNP has acted quickly, appropriately, and in fact we have not tried to protect a colleague here, we have tried to do the right thing.”
