Scottish MP suspended from UK parliament for breaching COVID-19 rules

By Mehmet Solmaz

BIRMINGHAM, England (AA) - Independent British MP Margaret Ferrier, who was expelled from the Scottish National Party (SNP) when reports emerged that she had breached lockdown rules in 2020, received a 30-day suspension from the House of Commons on Tuesday.

She previously admitted to taking a train to Glasgow to avoid self-isolation in a London hotel after learning that she had tested positive.

MPs voted by 185 to 40 in favor of suspending Ferrier from parliament for 30 days, a move that may trigger a by-election in her Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency.

More than 10% of registered voters in the constituency will need to sign the petition for a by-election to be held.

Ferrier won the seat for the SNP in the 2019 election but has been sitting as an independent since parting ways with the party.

She has already been ordered to complete 270-hour community service after admitting culpably and recklessly exposing the public "to the risk of infection, illness, and death.”

Although Ferrier "deeply regretted" her actions, she has so far refused to resign as an MP despite facing repeated calls to do so from many of her former SNP colleagues.