Who is SNP MP Margaret Ferrier?

MARGARET Ferrier broke Covid restrictions in September 2020, leading to her suspension from the SNP.

Here, we look at what she did, and where she is now.

Former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon (right) with Margaret Ferrier, when the latter was standing as a SNP candidate for Rutherglen in the 2019 election

Who is SNP MP Margaret Ferrier?

Margaret Ferrier is a Scottish politician serving as an SNP Member of Parliament for Rutherglen and Hamilton West from 2015 to 2017 when she lost her seat to Labour’s Ged Killen.

In 2019 she was elected again to the seat. 

Soon after becoming an MP she said she could not remember a time when she did not support Scotland separating from the rest of the UK. 

She was born in the King’s Park district of Glasgow.

Before becoming an MP she was a commercial sales supervisor for a manufacturing construction company in Motherwell, having studied shipping management.

What did Margaret Ferrier do?

Ferrier took a train to London whilst experiencing symptoms of Covid-19 in September 2020 to attend Parliament.

She then took a train back up to Scotland, despite guidance suggesting that she should have isolated due to her symptoms.

Ferrier also visited a salon and a leisure centre, exposing others to the disease.

Then-SNP leader Nicola Stuergeon was said to be furious with her, and suspended her from the party on October 2020.

She was arrested by police over the incident in January 2021 and charged with culpable and reckless conduct.

She pleaded guilty to the charge in August 2022, and was given community service.

In an exclusive interview with HOAR, she made it known that she had no intentions of quitting saying: “I want to continue to represent my constituents.”

Amazingly, she downplayed her actions by saying it was a “blip”.

She said: “You feel you’re getting a lot of criticism from people you thought were your colleagues or friends who would understand it was one blip.”

She also appeared to blame her decisions on the disease saying: “A lot of people say Covid makes you do things out of character.

“You’re not thinking straight.

“At that moment, when I thought it would come back negative and it was positive, I was utterly shocked. You could have knocked me over.”

Could Margaret Ferrier be suspended?

An MP’s watchdog recommended that Ferrier should be suspended for 30 days due to her breach of restrictions, on March 3, 2023.

This also raised the possibility of her seat in Parliament put up for a by-election.

She lost the SNP whip as a result of the crime.

She has repeatedly refused to resign from her seat, but now may be forced out.

In the interview with HOAR, she added: “It may be a serious error of judgement. I’m not denying that. People may be saying, ‘You should know better, you’re a public figure’.

“But at the end of the day it still hurts. You then think is all that hard work and dedication just wiped away?”

First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon is said to be furious about the affair, claiming that the MP misled the SNP by suggesting she was taking the train back to Scotland to see a sick family member.