MARGARET Ferrier can now return to the House of Commons after serving her 30-day suspension for breaking lockdown rules during the Covid pandemic.
The MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West was issued with a 30-day suspension in June after she travelled from Scotland to Westminster after testing for Covid in September 2020 and went on to speak in the House of Commons while waiting for the results.
Later, after the test confirmed she was positive for the virus, she took the train back to Glasgow.
MPs voted by 185 to 40 to approve the 30-day suspension recommended by the Standards Committee last month.
A recall petition was then launched, with a total of 10% of her constituents (roughly 8090 people) needed in order to trigger a by-election in Rutherglen and Hamilton West.
The former SNP politician – who now sits as an independent – urged her constituents not to sign it in a statement on her website.
She said: “It is ultimately up to the people of Rutherglen and Hamilton West to decide what happens next – not Westminster, not Holyrood, and certainly not any political party HQs.
“I made a mistake – for which I continue to apologise and have faced severe punishment. It has not deterred me from doing right by constituents and continuing to fight on their behalf. I hope that my constituents will recognise this.”
