Shamed MP Margaret Ferrier has spent thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money on eye- wateringly expensive flights to London in just six months. She took 15 trips costing from £450 to £533 a time between June 2021 and January 2022, totalling £7074.22, the Sunday Mail can reveal.
Ferrier, who is on an £81,932 salary, lost the SNP whip and received a criminal conviction after travelling to parliament by train while infected with Covid at the height of the pandemic. Since then, she has been flying on executive BA services from Glasgow directly into London City airport – all paid for by taxpayers.
On most weeks, an easyJet flight between the two cities can be booked in advance for between £50 and £100, and train tickets are available for about £160. Among Ferrier’s £533 trips was one claim made on November 1 – when child poverty and stretched public spending budgets was discussed in the Commons chamber.
Labour’s Monica Lennon said: “At a time when millions of people face a devastating cost-of-living crisis, MPs have a duty not to waste public money and to make sure they are making cost-effective travel choices. The correct thing would be for Margaret Ferrier to take herself off the public payroll by standing down and allowing a by-election to take place in her constituency.
“However, I suspect the SNP are quite happy to see her continue in her role while racking up thousands of pounds’ travelling expenses rather than face that prospect.” Scottish Conservative MSP Graham Simpson said: “This is the latest jaw-dropping example of Margaret Ferrier’s lack of self-awareness.
“She should have done the decent thing and resigned as an MP long ago but taxpayers are continuing to foot a hefty bill for her travelling down to Westminster. Her behaviour at the height of the pandemic was reckless and irresponsible and now she’s been found guilty.
“That should only accelerate the process of removing her as an MP but it looks like she wants to squeeze the well dry before that potentially occurs.” Flights to New York, Dubai or Toronto are frequently available from Glasgow for about £500 – less than the price Ferrier pays to get to London.
She spent a further £700 on airport parking over the six-month period, including £300 for a six-month pass in January. She has refused to step down as an MP, despite having little chance of winning a future election and no longer being allowed to represent the SNP in parliament.
A spokeswoman for Ferrier said the flights were all economy fares. The MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West claimed £133,326.72 in expenses in 2021. While it is normal for Scottish MPs to claim travelling expenses to Westminster from their constituencies, rail tickets or economy flights are available for a fraction of the price.
Earlier this month, Ferrier was ordered to undertake 270 hours of unpaid work for recklessly exposing the public “to the risk of infection, illness and death” after breaking Covid laws at the height of the pandemic. Her lawyer Brian McConnachie urged Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull not to impose a custodial sentence and described the 62-year-old MP as a “genuine first-time offender”.
He said the 48-hour period where Ferrier travelled between Scotland and London, attended a number of events and spoke in parliament was the “one and only period where she has come into conflict with the law”. He also claimed she had the lowest expenses claim for any Scottish MP.
Ferrier first experienced a “tickly throat” on September 26, 2020. She took a Covid test but, rather than self-isolate as the rules demanded, she attended mass and headed to the pub for two-and-a-half hours the next day.
The day after, she travelled to London and took part in a debate on Covid. When she received the positive result at 8.03pm that night, she met the SNP chief whip and told him she would need to leave parliament early and return to Scotland.
She did not tell him about the positive test and the SNP insists the party only found out when informed by the House of Commons Test and Trace team. Scotland’s MPs claimed more than £12million in expenses in 2021, despite spending months working at home during the pandemic.
The top claimant – and third overall in the UK – was SNP chief whip and Midlothian MP Owen Thompson, with £264,347 including £33,141 on accommodation and £11,463 on travel and subsistence. Scots Tory veteran David Mundell, the former Scottish Secretary and MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, was the second highest with £260,952. Mundell claimed the most of any Scots MP – £193,675 – for staffing costs to run his constituency and parliamentary offices.
The rest of the top 10 was dominated by current and former SNP politicians, including former chief whip and Glasgow North MP Patrick Grady – who stood down last year amid sexual harassment allegations – in third place with £249,168. The SNP’s Martyn Day, MP for Linlithgow and East Falkirk, was fourth with £244,280 and Alba’s Neale Hanvey – MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath – was fifth with £243,347.
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford, MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber, was the 11th highest claimant with £239,300, while Scottish Conservative leader and Moray MP Douglas Ross was 17th with £228,194.
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