NICOLA Sturgeon has a lot to deal with when covering here daily coronavirus briefings.
Inevitably there will be slips of the tongue.
It has emerged that the First Minister can't help calling Margaret Ferrier 'Margaret Covid'.
She did it for a second time on Monday as pressure grows on the SNP MP to quit after doing an 800-mile round trip to Parliament while suffering coronavirus symptoms.
And now it has become the subject of a lampoon by Scots comic Janey Godley.
On Friday, the First Minister used the term when she first knew Ms Ferrier had flouted coronavirus restrictions.
READ MORE: Margaret Ferrier: Everything Nicola Sturgeon said about fiasco
She said at the time: "The first I knew about Margaret Covid, er, Margaret Ferrier having Covid was yesterday afternoon. I think people can imagine my reaction to hearing that."
And it seems to have stuck.
Apparently, Nicola Sturgeon keeps accidently referring to Margaret Ferrier as Margaret "Covid" 😂🤦♂️pic.twitter.com/uV3ylKimp0
— News Addict (@addicted2newz) October 5, 2020
She made the same gaffe at today's press conference, stating: "Patrick Grady (the SNP chief whip) and the SNP didn't know last Monday or Tuesday that Margaret Covid had suspected or then confirmed Covid."
Twitter users teased the First Minister over he slip of the tongue, with one saying: "Margaret Covid. OMG this is so funny. I think this name will stick."
In Janey Godley's lampoon she says: "What a weekend it's been. I dreamt I kept on calling Margaret Ferrier, Margaret Covid. Ah, I've been like this since March, my head's puggled.
"Margaret Covid, Margaret Covid. Frank, get the door. I want a wee lie doon."
Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP Margaret Ferrier admitted on Thursday she had travelled to London while awaiting results for a Covid-19 test, and back to Glasgow after the screening showed she was positive, both by train.
Ms Sturgeon and other senior SNP figures have called for her to go, but the MP remained silent over the weekend about her future.
The First Minister announced on Twitter she had told Ms Ferrier, who she described as a friend, she should step down.
Ms Sturgeon's first slip of the tongue at the briefing on Friday, came when she denounced Ms Ferrier’s conduct and said she believed she should step down as an MP.
The First Minister repeated her appeal to the MP on Monday, while defending her party’s handling of the case, saying it had “acted to the maximum of what we can do”.
Ms Ferrier had the whip removed when her trips became public.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel