Shamed MP Margaret Ferrier has appealed the House of Commons standards committee's recommendation that she is suspended for 30 days.
A letter from the Independent Expert Panel confirmed that Ferrier had submitted an appeal on Monday afternoon.
The Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP could face a by-election after the standards committee recommended she receives a 30-day suspension for breaching Covid rules.
But the process will now be delayed because of her appeal, meaning a potential by-election could take place after summer.
Ferrier lost the SNP whip and received a criminal conviction after travelling from London to Glasgow by train while infected with Covid at the height of the pandemic.
A letter from Independent expert panel chair Stephen Irwin to House of Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle confirmed that Ferrier had submitted an appeal.
The Independent Expert Panel - which is entirely independent and has no MPs sitting on it - will consider the appeal.
If it is unsuccessful, the House of Commons will vote on whether her suspension should be put in place.
If 10 per cent of her constituents sign a petition, she will face a by-election.
It is unclear how long the appeal process will take. When Tory MP Andrew Bridgen appealed his recommended suspension late last year, the appeal was rejected in less than a month.
If the recommendation goes to the House of Commons, it is likely to pass following the Owen Paterson scandal, where then Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced into a retreat after preventing the immediate suspension by launching a review of the entire disciplinary system.
Ferrier was given 270 hours of community service in September 2022 after pleading guilty to breaking Covid travel rules.
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