MP Margaret Ferrier pleads guilty to exposing public to Covid

Margaret Ferrier pled guilty to culpably and recklessly exposing the public to the virus

An MP has pled guilty to breaching Covid rules after travelling by train despite knowing she had the virus.

Margaret Ferrier spoke in parliament in September 2020 while awaiting the results of a Covid test.

She then took the train home to Glasgow after being told she had tested positive.

Ferrier admitted that she had culpably and recklessly exposed the public to the virus ahead of a trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

She was elected as an SNP MP but lost the whip and now sits as an independent.

• Margaret Ferrier: Who is the MP who broke Covid rules?

The charge stated that she had failed to self isolate and had "exposed people to risk of infection, illness and death".

Sentence was deferred pending background reports until next month.

The MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West took a Covid test on Saturday 26 September because she had a "tickly throat".

While awaiting her results, she went to church on the Sunday and gave a reading to the congregation, and later spent more than two hours in a bar in Prestwick, Ayrshire.

She then travelled to London by train - which had 183 passengers on board - on the Monday and spoke in the Commons later that day before finding out a short time later that she had tested positive for the virus.

Ferrier decided to get a train back to Glasgow the following day, fearing she would have to self-isolate in a London hotel room for two weeks.

Prosecutor Mark Allan told the court: "The conduct amounted to a reckless disregard of public safety."

A spokesperson for the Catholic Church said: "The church went to significant lengths to abide by all government Covid guidance and It is disappointing to learn that anyone would knowingly disregard the guidance."

Ferrier was wearing a face mask when she arrived at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Thursday morning

Mr Allan said Ferrier wore a face mask in the Commons, and after speaking in the chamber at about 19:30 had sat at a table with DUP MP Jim Shannon, where they conversed for 20 minutes.

He added: "The positive result from the test was delivered at 8.03pm by text and email.

"She attended the SNP whips' office and spoke to then chief whip Patrick Grady MP. She informed Mr Grady that she would return to Scotland in the morning."

Ferrier returned to her hotel, where she spent the night, before heading back to London Euston and taking the train home to Glasgow.

Contact tracers for NHS Test and Protect attempted to contact Ferrier on four occasions but were unable to do so, leaving two voicemails.

She later contacted Test and Protect and disclosed that she had a "slight and infrequent cough" the day before her test.

Mr Allan added: "She said she did not believe that she would be positive."

Ferrier then informed Mr Grady and the Parliamentary Test and Trace service that she was positive.

This led to Mr Shannon being ordered to take a test and isolate in his hotel room, but he tested negative.

Calls for Margaret Ferrier's resignation have started up again in earnest.

But if she doesn't want to leave the Commons voluntarily, there are still a couple of ways in which it could happen.

The first is if she were to be jailed. A sentence of 12 months would automatically bar her from serving as an MP.

But any time behind bars could see her subject to a recall petition, which would trigger a by-election if 10% of her constituents signed up.

This could also be on the table if Ms Ferrier was suspended from the Commons for 10 days or more. This is a possibility, given she reported herself to the standards watchdog at the same time as the police, and they may choose to investigate once the court process is over.

If there were to be a by-election, it would be keenly contested by the SNP and Labour - the seat has bounced back and forth between them at the last three general elections.

Mr Grady was told the following day at a meeting at the Speaker's Office in the House of Commons that Ferrier's actions required to be reported to the police.

Ferrier contacted police and informed them of her breach before sending out a statement on her social media.

Public health expert Dr Andrew Riley told the police that Ferrier had "significantly increased the risk of harm to both individual and public health."

Ferrier has previously said she "deeply regretted" her actions but has so far refused to resign as an MP.

The 61-year-old first became an MP in 2015 in the SNP landslide that saw the party take 56 of the 59 seats in Scotland.

In May 2020, she was one of the MPs who called on the prime minister's adviser Dominic Cummings to resign in the wake of the controversy over his visit to the North East of England during lockdown.

At the time, she said his actions had "undermined the sacrifices that we have all been making in lockdown to protect each other from coronavirus" and described his position as "untenable".

After it emerged Ferrier had travelled with Covid symptoms, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon condemned her actions as "dangerous and indefensible".

The SNP leader later called "with a heavy heart" for her to resign as an MP.