Ferrier defiant as calls intensify
MP refuses to quit and blames Covid and SNP for her troubles
Shamed Rutherglen MP Margaret Ferrier has refused to quit her seat.
Despite not breaking cover for more than a week and her office not responding to calls, the covid rulebreaker said she is “continuing to work hard” in her £ 82,000 a year position.
It is also claimed Ferrier’s apology earlier this month for her catalogue of covid catastrophes was scripted by the SNP, who she claimed “hung me out to dry” before the party ordered her to refer herself to the police.
In an interview, the under-fire MP told the Scottish Sun she “panicked” when she took the 350-mile trip back to Scotland knowing she had tested positive for the virus. She defended her actions stating: “A lot of people say Covid makes you do things out of character. You are not thinking straight. I’m not making an excuse.
“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.
“While the last 10 days have been a highly stressful situation I’m still continuing to work hard for my constituents while I’m unwell. I’m still continuing to work despite everything.
“You feel you are getting a lot of criticism from people you thought were your colleagues or friends who’d understand it was an error of judgement. I’m not denying that.
“People may be saying, ‘ You should have known better, you’re a public figure’.
“But at the end of the day it still hurts. You think about all that hard work and dedication — is that just wiped away?”
The report also details the moment Ferrier discovered her Covid test came back positive. She said: “I was fine on Saturday morning. Later on in the afternoon I had a tickly throat.
“I went for the test that evening. And when I woke up at home the next day I had no symptoms. I think that’s why I was so shocked and panicked on Monday night when I got my result and thought, ‘How has this happened because I don’t feel unwell?
“Over the last six months the regulations and guidelines have changed and been so muddled.
“I felt well when I got up on Monday morning. If I’d in any way felt any symptoms I would not have travelled, obviously.
“I was going to London because I was wanting to represent my constituents, take part in a debate. That was my reasoning.
“So I went down, did what I had to do and went back to my office at night. Then got this text message to say that I was positive.”
Ferrier is later quoted saying: “I think I was worried I would be told to selfisolate in a hotel room for two weeks. I felt there was no alternative — that’s why I took the train.
“There were no other people next to me in the carriage and I wore a mask the whole way back.
“This has been an awful experience but I’ll keep fighting for my constituents because that’s who I am. I love my job. I made a mistake and I’ve apologised. I owned up to it and apologised profusely. I have a lot of support locally.”