NICOLA Sturgeon has piled yet more pressure on Margaret Ferrier to resign after the SNP MP vowed to carry on at Westminster despite a major breach of coronavirus rules.
In an interview with a Sunday newspaper, Ferrier pledged “to keep fighting” for her constituents, describing the incident as a “blip”.
But responding the comments, the First Minister has again urger the Rutherglen and Hamilton West representative to “do the right thing”.
Ferrier has been suspended by the SNP, and could be expelled following a party investigation.
Sturgeon told Sophy Rudge on Sunday: “We've done everything in terms of her SNP membership that we're able to do at this stage, pending that due process.
“No party leader has the power to make an MP resign from Parliament, but I couldn't be clearer she should step down from Parliament. The lapse of judgement in travelling hundreds of miles knowing she had tested positive for Covid was so significant and so unacceptable that I don't think there is any other acceptable course of action for her, so I've read her comments in the media today but I still hope she will do the right thing.”
.@NicolaSturgeon has been critical of Margaret Ferrier for travelling between London and Glasgow after testing positive for #COVID19.@SophyRidgeSky: 'If she's not fit to be an MP, why has she not been expelled from the SNP?'#Ridge: https://t.co/pCgCjM7pvx pic.twitter.com/H2GTz9S1fo
— Sophy Ridge on Sunday (@RidgeOnSunday) October 11, 2020
READ MORE: Margaret Ferrier says she won't resign as an MP over Covid rule breach
The First Minister added: “Every day, I have to stand and ask people across the country to do horrendously difficult things to not visit their loved ones. Right now I'm asking people to understand why they can't go to a pub or restaurant, and it is unacceptable that somebody in her position flagrantly disregarded the rules like that and I cannot be clearer about that: it is not acceptable and she should resign.”
Ferrier travelled from Glasgow to Westminster while awaiting a Covid-19 test result, then made the return trip when she knew she had the virus.
She told the Scottish Sun on Sunday that she "panicked" and suggested that the virus impaired her judgement.
"A lot of people say Covid makes you do things out of character. You're not thinking straight," she said.
The MP added that she has received support locally in the wake of the incident and has "owned up and apologised profusely".
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