Calls grow for Scottish MP to quit after she pleads guilty to breaking Covid rules

Constituents of the Covid rule-breaking MP Margaret Ferrier are said to be “aghast” that she remains in post, as calls for her to resign gathered pace after she pleaded guilty on Thursday to “culpably and recklessly” exposing the public to the virus.

The former Scottish National party politician, who now sits as an independent MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, faced immediate calls to stand down, including from the leader of her former party, Nicola Sturgeon, in October 2020 when it emerged she had visited a number of venues in her constituency and spoken in the Commons while awaiting the result of a Covid test.

After Ferrier, 61, admitted she had failed to self-isolate and had “exposed people to risk of infection, illness and death” at a hearing prior to a planned trial at Glasgow sheriff court, those calls for her to resign have once more gained momentum.

“Most people here are aghast that this has gone on so long,” said Martin Lennon, a Scottish Labour councillor for Rutherglen Central and North. “The fact that she pleaded guilty is the cherry on top. If she plans to squat in the seat until the next election, she needs to do the decent thing. She had a really good reputation locally, but now has tarnished all that.”

Ferrier’s sentencing was deferred pending background reports until next month. A recall petition could be triggered depending on what kind of sentence she receives and whether she is subsequently suspended from the Commons for 10 or more days. It would then require 10% of eligible constituents to sign it in order to trigger a byelection.

Robert Brown, a Scottish Liberal Democrat councillor for Rutherglen South, said that although the strength of feeling about her behaviour had diminished since it was first revealed – “when people were frankly outraged” – it remained likely that a recall petition would gather enough signatures if the grounds existed. “Meanwhile, people are frustrated that there are being deprived of the full services of a sitting MP.”

Nationally, opposition parties are calling for the SNP, which suspended her from the party in October 2020, to expel Ferrier.

The Scottish Lib Dem leader, Alex Cole-Hamilton, told the Scottish Daily Express that the MP had “made herself a pantomime villain in her own community”. He added: “The SNP must expel her immediately and she must resign from parliament or face recall by her constituents.”

The SNP said it would not be adding anything to the first minister’s comments until sentencing had been concluded.