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SNP Margaret Ferrier ignores the 800-mile roundtrip to Parliament with coronavirus symptoms as a ‘problem’ and blames ‘confusing’ rules as she clings to an £ 80,000-a-year job
- The politician has not yet resigned from Commons despite having been stripped of the SNP whip
- Ferrier, 60, has since said that Covid ‘makes you act out of place’
- Scotland Yard previously confirmed that it was investigating his admission.
SNP Margaret Ferrier has ignored her 800-mile roundtrip to Parliament with coronavirus symptoms as a ‘problem’ and instead blamed ‘confusing’ rules.
The 60-year-old politician has yet to resign from the House of Commons despite having been stripped of the SNP’s whip amid calls to resign for putting people’s lives at risk.
He is now holding on to his £ 80,000-a-year job by claiming that Covid ‘makes you act out of line’.
Scotland Yard previously confirmed that it was investigating Ms Ferrier’s admission that she traveled 400 miles from Glasgow to London, while awaiting test results, then took the train back after being told it was positive.
SNP Margaret Ferrier has dismissed her 800-mile round-trip to Parliament with coronavirus symptoms as a ‘problem’ and instead blamed ‘confusing’ rules
Ferrier told The Sun on Sunday that he had “panicked,” but was adamant that he had followed the rules correctly.
Speaking of the backlash, he said: “You feel like you are getting a lot of criticism from people who you thought were your colleagues or friends who would understand it was a problem.”
He traveled by train to London from Scotland while waiting for the results of a Covid test and then returned the next day after being told the test was positive.
Images on her Twitter page showed her in several public places that had likely been busy on a Saturday, including the Vanilla Salon and South Lanarkshire Eastfield Lifestyle Leisure Center in Rutherglen, and the Sweet P gift shop in Burnside.
Ferrier said: ‘A lot of people say that Covid makes you do things out of place. You are not thinking clearly.
‘At that moment, when I thought it would come back negative and it was positive, I was shocked. You could have knocked me down …
Ms Ferrier, 60, (pictured with Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon) has yet to resign from the Commons despite being stripped of the SNP whip amid calls for her to resign for jeopardizing the life of the people.
It can be a serious 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 all that hard work and dedication just disappeared?
Ferrier went on to say that regulations “have changed and been very confusing” in recent months.
She also slammed critics who have compared her to Dominic Cummings, the assistant prime minister, who traveled 260 miles to be close to relatives at the height of the pandemic.
Ms Ferrier could face a £ 4,000 fine for a first-time offense for coming into contact with other people ‘recklessly’ when she should have been in isolation under a law that went into effect on the day of her positive test.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said earlier this week that he was “shocked, amazed and appalled” that Ferrier has not yet resigned.
He told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday that his actions were ‘irresponsible and dangerous’.
Meanwhile, Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon has recently come under pressure to sign an impeachment petition that could force Ms Ferrier to leave her job.
Scottish Labor leader Richard Leonard has said Sturgeon should support the measure, which could be triggered if it is suspended from the Commons for two weeks.
Under parliamentary rules, the deputy would face by-elections if she signed at least 10 percent of her 81,000 voters.
Sturgeon used a series of expletives and said his “head was in his hands” when he was told that his “friend and colleague” had broken the law, the sources told the Times.
The Scottish Prime Minister also referred to Margaret Ferrier as ‘Margaret Covid’ in an error during Friday’s press conference, when she remarked when she first learned that Ferrier had circumvented coronavirus restrictions.
She said at the time: ‘The first thing I knew about Margaret Covid, uh, Margaret Ferrier had Covid was yesterday afternoon. I think people can imagine my reaction to hearing that. ‘
However, Sturgeon had previously made the exact same mistake, saying, “Patrick Grady and the SNP were unaware last Monday or Tuesday that Margaret Covid had suspected or later confirmed Covid.”
