MP Margaret Ferrier pleads guilty to Covid rule breach

18 August 2022, 12:12

MP Margaret Ferrier has pleaded guilty to breaching Covid rules
MP Margaret Ferrier has pleaded guilty to breaching Covid rules. Picture: Alamy

By Asher McShane

MP Margaret Ferrier has pleaded guilty to breaching Covid rules by travelling on a train between Scotland and London after being told to self-isolate in September 2020, during a hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Thursday.

She admitted that she culpably and recklessly exposed the public to risk of Covid-19 infection.

Ferrier, an independent MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, admitted wilfully exposing people "to the risk of infection, illness and death" by visiting various places in the Glasgow area and London having been told to self-isolate in late September 2020.

She had the SNP whip removed in 2020 after the allegations emerged and has come under pressure to resign from her seat, but remains an MP.

Sentencing was deferred until next month.

Read more: Rail misery as thousands of workers strike again in row over pay, jobs and conditions

Read more: Diana wouldn't have died if she'd had police protection, says former top cop

She took a Covid-19 test in September 2020 because she had a ’tickly throat’ and then went to church on a Sunday while awaiting the results, reading to the congregation, before going to a bar for more than two hours.

She then travelled to London by train and spoke in the Commons later that day before learning she had tested positive.

She got the train back to Glasgow the following day fearing she would be forced to self-isolate in a London hotel room for two weeks.

Prosecutors said she had “culpably and recklessly” put people at risk by visiting several places in Glasgow and her visits in London.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

More than 2 million drivers are set to hit the road on Good Friday.

Easter Carmageddon: Over two million drivers to hit the road on Good Friday after Storm Nelson travel chaos

Michael Gove has slammed the water firm as a 'disgrace'.

Thames Water bosses branded a ‘disgrace’ as Michael Gove tells firm ‘not to punish consumers’ for its failings

South Africa Bus Crash

Girl, 8, the sole survivor as 45 die in bus crash off South Africa bridge

A spokesman has denied reports the sausage dog could be banned.

The wurst news is over: Germany denies claims of sausage dog ban

Israel Palestinians Britain Aid

UN top court orders Israel to open more land crossings into Gaza

Greece Confidence Vote

Greece’s government survives no-confidence motion called over rail disaster

A council has had to apologise following the incident.

Fury as parents offered version of school class photo without complex needs pupils

Conjoined twin who shot to fame with sister on The Oprah Winfrey Show marries army veteran in private ceremony

Conjoined twin who shot to fame with sister on The Oprah Winfrey Show marries army veteran in private ceremony

Israel Palestinians UN Security Council

Russia ‘abolishes’ monitoring of sanctions on North Korea with UN veto

Firefighters at the scene of a bus crash in Limpopo

Bus plunges from bridge in South Africa and erupts into flames, killing at least 45 and leaving child, 8, as lone survivor

Music-Green Day UN

Green Day to headline UN-backed global climate concert

Exclusive
Starmer has vowed to resurrect Boris Johnson's 'Levelling Up' policy

Failure to ‘level up’ Britain would be ‘catastrophic’, Wes Streeting admits, as Starmer vows to resurrect Johnson policy

Border Force staff will walk out from April 11

Hundreds of Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport to stage four-day strike

Stephen Bear was ordered to pay Ms Harrison £5,000.

Disgraced reality TV star Stephen Bear ordered to pay £27,000 over revenge porn conviction or face nine months in jail

Sam Bankman-Fried

FTX founder Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison for crypto fraud

Exclusive
Covid no excuse for death of Finley Boden who was murdered by drug-addled parents, child protection chief says

Covid no excuse for death of Finley Boden who was murdered by drug-addled parents, child protection chief says