Former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier could face by-election after Commons committee recommends suspension

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Margaret Ferrier could face a by-election after the House of Commons standards committee recommended she receives a 30-day suspension for breaching Covid rules.

The Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP 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.

The House of Commons will now 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.The committee found that Ferrier's "failure was not a single misjudgement, but a series of deliberate actions over several days".It also said that her actions demonstrated "a lack of honesty" and said that she "knowingly exposed others to risk".It added that that “if Ms Ferrier had been a public sector employee in a position of trust or leadership, she could have faced severe disciplinary consequences, potentially including dismissal, for these or similar actions”.The House of Commons vote on her suspension is expected to take place in a couple of weeks as parliament is in recess from Friday.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.She did a Covid on September 26, 2020 after showing Covid symptoms, including a cough.While waiting for her results, she travelled in and around Glasgow as well as between Scotland and London.The independent MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West also spoke in the Houses of Parliament and