Committee on Standards publishes report on the conduct of Margaret Ferrier MP

30 March 2023

This report arises from an investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards following a self-referral from Margaret Ferrier MP. The Commissioner investigated whether Ms Ferrier had breached paragraphs 11 and 17 of the 2019 Code of Conduct for Members by her actions in September 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, following developing symptoms of COVID-19, and subsequently receiving a positive test result for COVID-19, for which Ms Ferrier later received a conviction by the Glasgow Sheriff Court for "culpable and reckless conduct".

Ms Ferrier indicated to the Committee that she did not wish to submit further written evidence or request to give oral evidence. Written evidence relating to the Commissioner’s inquiry is published on the Committee’s webpages here.

Full details of the Commissioner’s inquiry and his opinion are set out in his memorandum. The Committee summarises the Commissioner’s advice before setting out its decision.

The Commissioner’s opinion

Following his investigation, the Commissioner advised the Committee that Ms Ferrier had:

Breached paragraph 11 of the Code “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 for people she came into contact with once she had received a positive COVID-19 test result”.
Breached paragraph 17 of the Code “as 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”.

Ms Ferrier's position

Ms Ferrier accepts that she breached paragraph 17 of the 2019 Code of Conduct, and told the Commissioner that her self-referral was "an open acceptance" of this as well as “an indication of [her] remorse". Ms Ferrier maintains, however, that she did not breach paragraph 11 of the 2019 Code.

The Committee’s findings

The Committee states that whether unlawful behaviour by a Member falls within the scope of the Code of Conduct will depend on the facts of an individual case. The Committee agrees with the Commissioner that, in line with precedent, disregard of or disrespect for the law by a Member cannot be considered to be part of a Member's "purely private and personal life" (which is excluded from the scope of the Code).

The Committee also agrees with the Commissioner that "the fact that Ms Ferrier's behaviour has been sanctioned by a criminal court does not mean that the behaviour does not also require to be addressed as a breach of the Code". The House's standards system and the criminal justice system are separate; and the purposes, relevant rules, and sanctions available for each are different.

Paragraph 11

Ms Ferrier stated that she did not perceive there to be a conflict between her personal interest and the public interest. The Committee found that she should, however, have realised that there was such a conflict. By choosing to return home rather than self-isolate in London, as required by national guidance and the House's guidance, the Committee found that Ms Ferrier “acted selfishly in her personal interest and in defiance of the public interest”. In doing so, the Committee found that Ms Ferrier breached paragraph 11 of the 2019 Code.

Paragraph 17

The Committee agrees with the Commissioner that Ms Ferrier's actions knowingly and recklessly exposed members of the public and those on the parliamentary estate to the risk of contracting COVID-19 and demonstrated a disregard for the parliamentary and national guidance in place.

The Committee found that this was compounded by the fact that, by misleading her Chief Whip and delaying notifying the parliamentary test and trace team, Ms Ferrier acted dishonestly. In doing so, Ms Ferrier would have caused significant damage to the reputation of the House.

The Committee also agrees with the Commissioner that the fact that Ms Ferrier's actions constituted a breach of the criminal law in Scotland has caused significant damage to the reputation of the House. The Committee therefore found that Ms Ferrier breached paragraph 17 of the 2019 Code.

The Committee’s recommended sanction

The Committee found the following points to be aggravating factors:

Ms Ferrier's failure was not a single misjudgement, but a series of deliberate actions over several days;
Ms Ferrier's actions demonstrated, in particular, a lack of honesty, one of the Seven Principles of Public Life;
Others, both across the country and within the parliamentary community, made significant sacrifices in order to follow the rules and guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic;
Ms Ferrier knowingly exposed others to risk, including staff working on the parliamentary estate, both by attending the House and by failing to notify the House authorities of her positive test result, and exposed members of the public to risk when travelling; and
Ms Ferrier's actions constituted a breach of the criminal law for which a "high degree of recklessness" was needed.

The Committee found the following points to be mitigating factors:

Ms Ferrier has received a criminal penalty for her actions, of 270 hours of unpaid work;
Ms Ferrier expressed her remorse for her actions during her trial and her “[bitter] regret” to the Commissioner;
Ms Ferrier has experienced considerable personal distress in relation to this matter.

The Committee concluded that, whilst the threshold for a breach of paragraph 17 of the Code is necessarily high, any finding that a Member's actions have brought the House into disrepute must be considered to be a serious breach. The Committee also stated that “if Ms Ferrier had been a public sector employee in a position of trust or leadership, she could have faced severe disciplinary consequences, potentially including dismissal, for these or similar actions”.

The Committee therefore recommends that Ms Ferrier is suspended from the service of the House for 30 days.