A recall petition that could see MP Margaret Ferrier ousted from the House of Commons will close on Monday – although the result will not be known until later.
Her Rutherglen and Hamilton West seat could become the first recall by-election in Scotland, if more than 10% of voters sign the petition.
It comes after Ms Ferrier, who was elected as an SNP MP but now sits as independent after being removed from the party, was suspended from the House of Commons for 30 days for her breach of Covid rules.
In 2020, she took a train from Scotland to Westminster after testing for the virus, before then travelling back north by train after being confirmed as Covid positive.
With petition signing places due to close at 5pm on Monday, a total of 8,113 electors are required to have put their name to it by then for there to be a by-election.
Both the SNP and Labour are expected to campaign hard for the seat in the event of a by-election, with a contest representing a first parliamentary test for First Minister Humza Yousaf.
The closure of the petition comes in the days after former first minister Alex Salmond spoke out in support of Ms Ferrier, accusing former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon of throwing her to the “media wolves” after the party whip was withdrawn in the wake of the breaches becoming public, accusing the party of a “totally depressing display of disloyalty”.
Mr Yousaf rejected the claims, saying: “It’s not just an error of judgment of course, Margaret Ferrier was guilty of a number of charges as well. That’s pretty serious.
“I think Alex Salmond, perhaps not for the first time in this regard, is in a minority in terms of how Margaret Ferrier has been treated.”
While the petition closes at 5pm on Monday, it is understood the counting of signatures will not take place until Tuesday afternoon.
Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of the House of Commons will then be informed, before the result is publicly revealed.
