Nicola Sturgeon calls Margaret Ferrier ‘Margaret Covid’ AGAIN as pressure mounts on SNP MP to quit after 800-mile Coronavirus round trip to Parliament

• Nicola Sturgeon called Margaret Ferrier ‘Margaret Covid’ for a second time
• The Scottish First Minister first blundered at a press conference on Friday
• She made the same gaffe again today, saying: ‘The SNP didn’t know last Monday or Tuesday that Margaret Covid had suspected or then confirmed Covid’
• Ms Ferrier has yet to resign from the Commons despite being stripped of the SNP whip and Ms Sturgeon publicly calling for her to go

Nicola Sturgeon today called Margaret Ferrier ‘Margaret Covid’ for a second time as pressure grows on the SNP MP to quit after doing an 800-mile round trip to Parliament while suffering coronavirus symptoms.

The Scottish First Minister blundered at a press conference on Friday as she discussed when she first knew Ms Ferrier had flouted coronavirus restrictions.

She said at the time: ‘The first I knew about Margaret Covid, er, Margaret Ferrier having Covid was yesterday afternoon. I think people can imagine my reaction to hearing that.’

However, Ms Sturgeon made exactly the same gaffe at today’s press conference, stating: ‘Patrick Grady and the SNP didn’t know last Monday or Tuesday that Margaret Covid had suspected or then confirmed Covid.’

Twitter accounts instantly mocked the Scottish First Minister’s embarrassing slip of the tongue, with one saying: ‘Margaret Covid. OMG this is so funny. I think this name will stick’.

Another posted: ‘Nicola Sturgeon’s called Margaret Ferrier ‘Margaret Covid’ AGAIN! Maybe we all should, at least until she (Ms Ferrier) resigns’.

Nicola Sturgeon (left) called Margaret Ferrier (right) ‘Margaret Covid’ for a second time as pressure grows on the SNP MP to quit after travelling while suffering coronavirus symptoms 

Twitter accounts instantly mocked the Scottish First Minister’s embarrassing slip of the tongue, with one saying: ‘Margaret Covid. OMG this is so funny. I think this name will stick’

‘Look, I can’t feel sorry for her,’ another commented. ‘She screwed up and she deserves to be known as Margaret Covid at least until she resigns’.

Ms Ferrier, the Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP, has yet to resign from the Commons despite being stripped of the SNP whip and Ms Sturgeon publicly calling for her to go.

Scotland Yard confirmed it was looking into Ms Ferrier’s admission that she travelled 400 miles from Glasgow to London while awaiting the results of a test, and then took the train back after being told it was positive.

Ms Ferrier could face a £4,000 fine for a first-time offence of ‘recklessly’ coming into contact with others when she should have been self-isolating under a law that came into force on the day of her positive test.

The Scottish First Minister is now under pressure to sign up to a recall petition that could force Ms Ferrier out of her £82,000 a year job,

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said yesterday that he is ‘surprised, amazed and shocked’ that Ms Ferrier has not yet resigned.

He told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday her actions were ‘irresponsible and dangerous’.

Meanwhile, Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard has said Ms Sturgeon must support a recall petition to remove Ms Ferrier, which could be triggered if she is suspended from the Commons for two weeks.

Under parliamentary rules, the MP would face a by-election if at least 10 per cent of her 81,000 constituents signed.

Ms Ferrier travelled by train to London from Scotland last Monday while awaiting the results of a Covid test taken on Saturday, and then travelled back the following day after being told the test was positive.

Images on her Twitter page showed her in several public places likely to have been busy on a Saturday, including the Vanilla Salon and South Lanarkshire Eastfield Lifestyle leisure centre in Rutherglen, and Sweet P gift shop in Burnside.

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle lashed out at her astonishing actions as she faced calls from her own party leader to quit the Commons.

Ms Sturgeon used a series of expletives and said her ‘head was in her hands’ on being told that her ‘friend and colleague’ had broken the law, sources told the Times.

Images on Ms Ferrier’s Twitter page showed her in several public places likely to have been busy on a Saturday, including the Vanilla Salon and South Lanarkshire Eastfield Lifestyle leisure centre in Rutherglen (pictured with the MP centre)

However, Ms Ferrier is resisting calls to quit and may seek to stay in the Commons as an independent, having referred herself to the parliamentary standards watchdog.

The SNP has insisted it was unaware Ms Ferrier had taken a Covid-19 test on Saturday before travelling to Westminster to take part in a debate on coronavirus in the House of Commons on Monday.

By Ms Ferrier’s own account, she was informed the test was positive that evening.

The Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP said she was screened after experiencing ‘mild symptoms’, meaning she should have self-isolated.

In a statement, she admitted she travelled home to Glasgow on Tuesday, where she has been self-isolating ever since. She apologised for her actions and said there was ‘no excuse’.

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed it is investigating the journeys along with British Transport Police over potential breaches of the Health Protection Regulations 2020.

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