Scottish police involve prosecutors in probe into MP Margaret Ferrier's 400-mile train journey after Covid diagnosis

Police in Scotland have asked public prosecutors for an initial assessment of whether MP Margaret Ferrier broke the country's Covid-19 rules by travelling over 400 miles (640km) from London after testing positive for the virus.

London's Metropolitan Police had launched an inquiry into Ferrier last month after she boarded a train from Glasgow to attend Parliament in London on September 28, despite taking a coronavirus test and feeling ill just days earlier.

The MP tested positive for the virus later the same day, before taking another train back to her Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency in Scotland the following morning. 

Ferrier admitted breaching UK government Covid-19 guidelines and was subsequently suspended from the Scottish National Party (SNP).

"We have submitted an initial assessment of the circumstances to Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and are carrying out further enquiries under their direction," a spokesperson for Police Scotland said on Wednesday.

Police Scotland has continued to look at the case after London's Metropolitan Police said it would not take any further action against Ferrier, as English laws requiring people to self-isolate had not come into effect at the time she took her test.

Ferrier has continued as an Independent MP since losing the SNP whip.

She previously claimed she had been "hung out to dry" by the SNP after her suspension, but the party's leader and First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon called her actions "utterly indefensible" and urged her to resign as an MP.

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