By-election triggered as former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier loses seat following Covid breach
1 August 2023, 17:34 | Updated: 1 August 2023, 17:38
SNP MP Margaret Ferrier has lost her seat in a petition after breaking Covid-19 rules, triggering a by-election for her seat in parliament.
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Margaret Ferrier, MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP, was found by the standard's watchdog to have damaged parliament's reputation and put people at risk by failing to self-isolate while suffering from the virus in September 2020.
She had travelled in and around Glasgow and to London in September 2020 after taking a test, instead of isolating as she was meant to.
While awaiting the results, the 62-year-old spoke in the Houses of Parliament and visited places in London only returning to Scotland after receiving a positive result.
She was ordered to complete 270 hours of community service after admitting recklessly exposing the public "to the risk of infection, illness and death" as a result of her behaviour.
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The former SNP politician was kicked out of her parliamentary party when the allegations emerged but resisted pressure to resign - and had been sitting as an independent.
Ms Ferrier was suspended from the House of Commons for 30 days, which triggered the recall petition.
The petition, which was opened on June 20 and closed at 5pm on Monday, was signed by more than 10% of the constituency's electorate.
South Lanarkshire Council announced the results on Tuesday night.
The recall petition was the first to be held in Scotland, and the by-election hands a huge early test for SNP First Minister Humza Yousaf.
Read more: MP Margaret Ferrier pleads guilty to Covid rule breach
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Daniel Greenberg said Ms Ferrier had breached the code of conduct for MPs "by placing her own personal interest of not wishing to self-isolate immediately or in London over the public interest of avoiding possible risk of harm to health and life".
She also breached the code because "her actions commencing from when she first took a Covid-19 test to when she finally begins self-isolation have caused significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons as a whole, and of its members generally".
