Inside Politics: SNP MP infected with coronavirus faces calls to quit after ‘reckless’ behaviour

A huge contact-tracing operation is under way in parliament after Margaret Ferrier turned up with Covid symptoms – and travelled home with positive result, writes Adam Forrest

Margaret Ferrier speaking in Commons (Parliament TV)

Americans await an “October surprise” at every presidential election. Well, they certainly have one this time – Donald Trump has coronavirus. Although it shouldn’t actually be a surprise at all, given the president’s irresponsible refusal to wear a mask. We have our own irresponsible politicians to worry about. One SNP MP has Westminster in a tizzy after she admitted travelling 400 miles on a train with coronavirus symptoms – and 400 miles back again after testing positive. Meanwhile, 220 miles away in Brussels, the UK and EU chief negotiators are all set to reveal whether they’ve done the responsible thing and forged a Brexit breakthrough.

Inside the bubble

Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick on what to look out for today:

Brussels’ Brexit chief Michel Barnier is thought to have pulled plans to update EU leaders today on the latest negotiations, preferring to keep talking to the UK side. Does this mean a deal is closer? There has, finally, been movement by London, which has made a big concession on fishing and put forward an improved state aid offer. If progress has not been made this week, the deadline for a deal by the middle of October will, surely, be up in smoke.

Daily briefing

SAD, BAD AND DANGEROUS TO KNOW: The SNP’s Margaret Ferrier has had the party whip removed and is facing calls to resign as MP. She admitted getting a train down to Westminster despite Covid symptoms – and getting the train home after a positive result. SNP boss Nicola Sturgeon called it “utterly indefensible – it’s hard to express just how angry I feel”. Train drivers’ union Aslef called her actions as “dangerous and disgraceful”. Ferrier potentially faces a big fine, with Police Scotland “looking into” her movements and liaising with the Met. The MP actually spoke in the Commons (about coronavirus!) on Monday evening – the very same evening she received a positive result. It’s not clear yet whether the result came before or after her speech. A team in parliament was last night helping NHS Test and Trace track down those she may have infected, and special cleaning measures are being carried out in the Commons. What a mess one person can cause.

TIERS OF JOY: Ministers are set to introduce a new “three-tier” approach to Covid restrictions across England, amid criticism the jumble of different regional rules is too confusing. A simplified system has been “signed off” by government officials and will be rolled out by mid-October, according to the BBC. Tier one ares will see “rule of six” and social distancing, tier two would mean bans on household meetings, and tier three would be something close to full lockdown. It comes as the elected mayor of Middlesbrough vowed to “defy” the latest measures imposed on his area – a ban on households mixing. Accusing ministers of “ignorance” about his town, Andy Preston fumed: “As things stand we defy the government and do not accept these measures.” The government accused him of risking lives – but it’s not clear how the power struggle gets resolved.

STEP IT UP: Are we about to hear of a breakthrough in trade deal talks? Downing Street did not deny reports that a compromise has been reached on fisheries which would see EU catches in British waters “phased down” between 2021 and 2024. But it would have been impossible for negotiators to ignore EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s big announcement – Brussels has taken the “first step” in legal action against the UK over the plan to breach the withdrawal agreement. She said the UK has one month to respond to the legal “letter of formal notice”. How significant is it? Dutch PM Mark Rutte played the letter down, calling it “more administrative than political”, while Irish premier Micheal Martin said trade talks would continue. Labour leader Keir Starmer called for both sides to get on with it: “A deal can be done here. It’s absurd that with weeks to go, the focus and the energy is … on threatened court proceedings.”

TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED: Officials at the Foreign Office are now “at war” with home secretary Priti Patel over all the macabre proposals to deal with asylum seekers, according to The Times. One Tory MP and ally of Patel blamed disgruntled civil servants for the splurge of stories about offshoring migrants on disused ferries and remote islands. “By coming up with bizarre and unworkable policy options, then leaking them, the Foreign Office is attempting to discredit any and every solution,” the unnamed MP said. Former civil servants told The Independent the ideas were both illegal and unworkable. Starmer said the idea of sticking people on old ferries was “inhuman” and Sturgeon said she would oppose “any proposal to treat human beings like cattle”. Top Home Office civil servant Matthew Rycroft told MPs on Thursday that “everything is on the table” when it comes to changing the asylum system. He also revealed that the Cabinet office had launched an investigation into the leaks.

CHANGE, ALL CHANGE PLEASE:  Poland and Turkey have been added to the quarantine list, part of the now-traditional weekly changes due to kick in at 4am on Saturday. Caribbean islands Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba have also been added, so travellers will also have to self-isolate for two weeks. Transport secretary Grant Shapps revealed that the penalties for people who do not self-isolate when they return will be increased to £10,000 for repeat offenders. Further restrictions imposed on Merseyside, Middlesbrough, Warrington and Hartlepool – where households mixing is banned from Saturday – sparked another wave of weeping and wailing and comparisons with Nineteen Eighty-Four from Tory MPs. Philip Davies accused Matt Hancock of acting like a “nanny state socialist” by overseeing coronavirus restrictions which “erode our freedoms”. Hancock said he “profoundly” disagreed in the Commons clash – saying he believed in “individual responsibility”.

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT: Huge news from the US: Donald Trump has contracted coronavirus. The president and his wife have both tested positive, he revealed on Twitter. “We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!” Will it mean the next debate, due 15 October, gets delayed or cancelled? We can only hope. It follows the news his close aide Hope Hicks had tested positive. Hicks was pictured with Trump in Ohio earlier this week without a mask on. And she would have been in close proximity to him on the presidential helicopter going to Minnesota on Wednesday. Trump called Fox News last night to say he felt fine – and managed to finally say some negative things about far-right groups. “I condemn the KKK, I condemn all White supremacists, I condemn the Proud Boys. I don’t know much about the Proud Boys, almost nothing, but I condemn that.”

On the record

“This isn’t creative thinking – these suggestions are inhuman and the government shouldn’t be pursuing them.”

Keir Starmer condemns wild ideas of ‘offshoring’ asylum seekers.

From the Twitterati

“Ferrier called for Cummings to resign after he travelled half the distance symptomless. Guido expects the MPs resignation by the morning.”

Guido Fawkes thinks ‘hypocrite’ Ferrier should resign, even though Cummings did not...

“Ok get Ferrier in the rose garden, we need this.”

…and The Times’ Esther Webber thinks the MP should explain herself, Cummings-style.

Essential reading

Tom Peck, The Independent: Sadly, Patel’s plan to send asylum seekers to a remote island really is the best she can do

James Moore, The Independent: Rule breakers Jeremy Corbyn and Stanley Johnson should have known better

Emily Tamkin, New Statesman: The Democrats must learn from Republican ruthlessness to win the election

Frank Bruni, The New York Times: For the sake of democracy, cancel the Trump-Biden debates

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