Disgraced Lanarkshire MP Margaret Ferrier is facing a 30-day suspension from the House of Commons – which carries the possibility of triggering a by-election in her constituency.
Ms Ferrier last year pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable and reckless conduct for breaking Covid rules when she travelled to London with symptoms and back home again the next day after receiving a positive test result, and was sentenced to 270 hours’ community service.
Now the parliamentary standards committee at Westminster has ruled that her actions breached two parts of the code of conduct for members and has proposed the lengthy suspension; which in turn would mean that her Rutherglen & Hamilton West constituents can petition for a new election in the seat.
The sanction would now need to be approved by the House of Commons. Suspension of any MP from the Westminster chamber for more than 10 days allows constituents to call for a by-election, with the petition needing the support of 10 per cent of the constituency's 81,000 voters.
Ms Ferrier has refused calls to resign as an MP ever since her actions while positive with Covid in September 2020, when she visited constituency businesses, travelled by taxi and train to Westminster and then returned home after receiving her test result instead of isolating as required.
She has instead continued to sit as an independent after being stripped of the SNP whip, despite calls for her resignation from a host of politicians including former first minister Nicola Sturgeon and numerous cross-party Lanarkshire representatives including Richard Leonard, Monica Lennon and Neil Gray.
The standards committee’s newly-published report states: “If Ms Ferrier had been a public sector employee in a position of trust or leadership, she could have faced severe disciplinary consequences, potentially including dismissal, for these or similar actions.
“Any finding that a member’s actions have brought the House into disrepute must be considered to be a serious breach – the code [of conduct] states that members have a duty to uphold the law, something the public rightly expect.”
It adds: “In arriving at the decision on sanction, the committee has had to take account of the effect of the Recall of MPs act. The recommended sanction, if approved by the House, will trigger the possibility of recall. We believe the operation of the act requires review.”
The report includes a written account from Ms Ferrier to the standards commissioner outlining her actions after receiving the positive test result in London, in which she says: “In that moment I felt real fear of being hundreds of miles from home, with no GP or medical services that I rely on.
“I became anxious at the prospect of being alone in a hotel in circumstances where my health could deteriorate; in my panic I believed I would be able to self-isolate more safely at home where I would have access to everything I needed and would also be able to call upon help from relatives if this became necessary.
“My decision to make the journey home once I had discovered I had tested positive for Covid-19 was made whilst in a state of shock and anxiety. I did not at any time believe that I was acting in my own self-interest but believed I was taking the safest step in the unfortunate set of circumstances that I had myself created when I made the decision to travel to London, a poor decision which I now bitterly regret.”
Committee members, comprising cross-party MPs and lay members, concluded: “Ms Ferrier told her chief whip that she wanted to return to Scotland because a family member was ill, and withheld the real reason, that she had received a positive test result – this was a calculated untruth, designed to enable her to return to Scotland without being challenged.
“Ms Ferrier’s actions knowingly and recklessly exposed members of the public and those on the parliamentary estate to the risk of contracting Covid-19 and demonstrated a disregard for the parliamentary and national guidance in place; compounded by the fact that, by misleading her chief whip and delaying notifying the parliamentary test and trace team, Ms Ferrier acted dishonestly.”
They noted that she has expressed remorse in relation to her conduct and received a criminal penalty – but also noted as aggravating factors that the MP’s actions “knowingly exposed others to risk” through “not a single misjudgment, but a series of deliberate actions over several days”; and added: “Others made significant sacrifices in order to follow the rules and guidance during the pandemic.”
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