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THE SNP “must come clean over the extent of its collusion” with MP Margaret Ferrier following her breach of Covid-19 measures, Scottish Labour said today.
The Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP, who was suspended from the SNP earlier this month, claimed today that she was “hung out to dry” by the party after she posted a scripted statement in which she admitted her wrongdoing.
Ms Ferrier, who travelled to the Commons while awaiting a Covid-19 test result before taking a train back to Scotland after learning that she had the virus, said that the SNP’s actions have been based on an escalation of public outcry since the statement was released.
The MP reiterated that she has no intention of standing down from her job.
Recalling the moment she was suspended from the party, she told the Sun: “They were sorry. They were going to have to take the whip off me but I would get back in because I was co-operating and had been honest.
“Why suddenly have we got to the point where they have to take the whip from me? It was because the statement went out and it escalated.”
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard accused the SNP of collusion, saying that the party only turned on the MP “after it became clear that the public was not going to buy their excuses.
“This revelation has made it abundantly clear that the SNP tried to help Margaret Ferrier spin her way out of the mess that she had created,” he said.
“While Ian Blackford and Nicola Sturgeon have both sought to distance themselves from Ms Ferrier,” Mr Leonard said of the SNP’s Westminster and party leaders, “it is clear that the SNP was more than happy to help her attempt to explain her heinous actions.
“The SNP must come clean over the extent of its collusion with Ms Ferrier and the role played by party officials in her response to the allegations.”
Mr Blackford said today that Mr Ferrier had “breached the trust of her constituents” but that removing the whip was the limit of what he could do.
He encouraged her to resign as an MP, adding: “The idea that Margaret, as an elected politician, didn’t know what the requirements are is a bit fanciful to say the least.”