MP Margaret Ferrier gets community service for breaking Covid travel rules
She took a train from London to Glasgow despite testing positive for Covid
Last updated 13th Sep 2022
A Lanarkshire MP who admitted putting people at risk by travelling on a train from London to Scotland knowing she had Covid-19 has been sentenced to a 270 hour community payback order at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
Margaret Ferrier, 62, travelled in and around Glasgow and down to the House of Commons London in September 2020 after taking a test for the virus, and then failed to isolate after being told she was positive.
The now-independent MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West admitted she had culpably and recklessly exposed the public "to the risk of infection, illness and death" at a hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court last month.
The MP faced renewed calls to stand down from the Commons following her guilty plea.
READ MORE: Ferrier swipes photographer as she leaves court
"You wilfully disregarded guidance...your behaviour was deliberate"
Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull told Ferrier that he had decided against imposing a prison sentence.
He instead ordered her to carry out 270 hours of unpaid work within a nine-month period.
The term was cut from 300 hours due to her guilty plea.
Sheriff Turnbull told Ferrier: "You wilfully disregarded the guidance and did not self-isolate after your test.
"Your behaviour was deliberate and extended over a number of days.
"The gravity of harm that could have resulted from your actions could have been significant."
Ferrier - wearing a face-mask in court - went on to confirm to the sheriff that she would agree to the terms of the community payback order.
What did she do?
During the hearing last month, the court heard that Ferrier did a test for Covid-19 on September 26 after showing symptoms, including a cough.
The next day she read to a congregation of about 45 people at a mass in St Mungo's Church, Glasgow, before heading to Vic's bar in Main Street, Prestwick, South Ayrshire.
She then travelled to London by train on September 27 and spoke in the Commons later that day.
A short time after, she found out she had tested positive for the virus.
Train trip with Covid-19
The court heard Test and Protect had tried to contact her three times and left two voicemails at about 10am that day before Ferrier returned the call at about 2pm, almost four hours later.
Ferrier then returned to her hotel, where she spent the night, before heading back to London Euston and taking the train home to Glasgow, knowing she had Covid-19.
Ferrier, of Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, had the SNP whip removed in 2020 after the allegations emerged, but has continued to sit as an independent.
She has come under pressure to resign from her seat but remains an MP.