U.K. Lawmaker Told to Quit by Leader After Covid Rule Break

(Bloomberg) -- A U.K. lawmaker was told to quit by her party's leader after she admitted breaking self-isolation rules to attend Parliament in London this week while waiting for the result of a coronavirus test, which later came back positive.

“I've spoken to Margaret Ferrier and made clear my view that she should step down as an MP,” Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Twitter. “I did so with a heavy heart -- she is a friend and colleague -- but her actions were I have no power to force an MP to resign but I hope she will do the right thing.”

Ferrier, the Scottish Nationalist Party MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West near Glasgow, apologized “unreservedly” for her actions in a statement, saying she had contacted the police and the House of Commons authorities.

“I feel angry on behalf of all of you,” Sturgeon later told reporters in Edinburgh. “The rules apply to everyone, regardless of who they are.”

Ian Blackford, the SNP's leader in the House of Commons, said he had suspended the party whip from Ferrier and that she will be referring herself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. Asked whether she should resign, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office said it is a matter for Ferrier and her party.

“Everyone needs to follow the rules in order to allow us to reduce the spread of the virus and protect lives,” Johnson's spokesman, Jamie Davies, told reporters on Friday.

Illegal Travel

Ferrier, who won her seat from the Labour Party last year, said she took a Covid-19 test Saturday after suffering from mild symptoms, but instead of self-isolating, she traveled to London by train Monday to attend Parliament. Having received her positive test result that day, she traveled home by train Tuesday.

House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle called it “completely reckless behavior.”

“To put people at risk, whether it's in Parliament or on public transport, this was not acceptable,” Hoyle told Sky News on Friday. “It shouldn't have happened.”

The U.K. has imposed strict quarantine regulations on people who test positive for coronavirus and Sturgeon has repeatedly said that everyone should be subject to the rules. In April, Scotland's chief medical officer was forced out of her job after she broke lockdown regulations to visit a holiday home.

Under pandemic regulations in England, fines for breaking self-isolation start at 1,000 pounds ($1,290), increasing to 10,000 pounds for repeat offenders. Scotland also has fines for breaking pandemic regulations.

Police Scotland said it is “looking into the circumstances” and liaising with London's Metropolitan Police on Ferrier's case.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.