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US President Donald Trump has been flown to Walter Reed Medical Center after he and his wife Melania tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday. Photo: AFP Trump, wearing a suit and a mask, walked onto Marine One, the president's helicopter which had landed on the lawn of the White House. He waved to the news media but did not stop for questions, before the short flight to the hospital. Trump has released a short video on his Twitter account, 17 hours after his last post, saying he thought he was doing very well and he was heading to hospital "to make sure things work out". pic.twitter.com/B4H105KVSs — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020 Trump, 74, has been moved to a special suite at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for the next few days as a precautionary measure, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said. "Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the President will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days," she said in a statement. Photo: AFP The White House has confirmed there will be no transfer of power. Trump has a mild fever, according to a source familiar with the matter. White House doctor Sean P Conley wrote in a memo that he is "fatigued but in good spirits." It was the latest recent setback for the Republican president, who is trailing Democratic rival Joe Biden in opinion polls ahead of the presidential election next month. Biden himself and his wife, Jill, tested negative today. Trump, who has played down the threat of the coronavirus pandemic from the outset, wrote on Twitter earlier on Friday that he and his wife Melania were going into quarantine after testing positive for the virus, which has killed more than 200,000 Americans and severely damaged the US economy. An active Twitter user, Trump did not post any messages for the next 17 hours, until he tweeted a short video. Bystanders watch after the helicopter lands to collect US President Donald Trump who is suffering from Covid-19. Photo: AFP Trump is at high risk because of his age and weight. He has remained in apparent good health during his time in office but is not known to exercise regularly or to follow a healthy diet. Conley said Trump has received a single dose of Regeneron's polyclonal antibody cocktail, a technique that is used for treating a wide range of illnesses. Data is limited on its effectiveness for Covid-19 but US infectious disease chief Dr. Anthony Fauci is among those saying it has promise. Trump is also taking zinc, Vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin and a daily aspirin. Photo: AFP Earlier, Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows said the president was "on the job" and "in good spirits", adding that he expected him to make a quick recovery. Meadows said the president remained energetic, and gave him his usual five or six tasks this morning. "I hope this serves as a reminder," Biden tweeted after the result. "Wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands." Other close members of Trump's family have tested negative. Officials said the process of tracking all the president's contacts in recent days was ongoing, adding that Trump was considering how he might address the nation or otherwise communicate with the American people later today. Yesterday, the first couple said they intended to self-isolate after one of Trump's closest aides, Hope Hicks, tested positive. Soon afterwards, they too received positive test results. But there has been criticism of Trump's decision to go to a fundraiser attended by dozens of people in New Jersey on Thursday, apparently when officials already knew about Hicks's symptoms. Hicks, 31, travelled with Trump on Air Force One to the first presidential TV debate with Biden in Ohio on Wednesday. Some of Trump's family members who attended the debate were seen not wearing masks. The process of tracking all Donald Trump's contacts in recent days has begun in the US. Photo: AFP Pence negative Vice President Mike Pence, next in line for the Oval Office, has tested negative for Covid-19, hours after Trump announced that he was infected, Pence's spokesperson said. Trump's test result cast a spotlight on Pence, a Christian conservative former lawmaker who has been one of the few constants in the Republican president's tumultuous administration, a little more than a month before the two seek re-election to a second term. Vice President Mike Pence, next in line to Donald Trump, has tested negative to Covid-19. Photo: AFP Pence, 61, is scheduled to debate his Democratic rival, Joe Biden's running mate Senator Kamala Harris on Wednesday (US time), and it was not immediately clear how or if Trump's positive test would change that plan. "This morning, Vice President Pence and the Second Lady tested negative for Covid-19. Vice President Pence remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery," spokesman Devin O'Malley said on Twitter. Trump and Pence will work from separate residences, a White House official told Reuters, and their staffs will also be separated to protect Pence should he need to assume the duties of the presidency. Pence receives the same intelligence briefings as the president. Pence would take over as acting president should Trump become incapacitated while undergoing medical treatment. That has happened three times in US history. Then-President George W Bush temporarily transferred power to Vice President Dick Cheney twice, for a few hours each in 2002 and 2007, while undergoing colonoscopies. Vice President George H W Bush was acting president for nearly eight hours in 1985 while President Ronald Reagan had a pre-cancerous lesion removed. Nancy Pelosi Photo: AP The White House said Trump is "not incapacitated" and is working in isolation while experiencing mild symptoms. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi is next in line of succession after Pence. She said on Friday that she had been tested for Covid-19 and should know her results soon. In response to Trump's positive diagnosis, she said: "This is tragic. It's very sad. ... Going into crowds unmasked and all the rest was sort of a brazen invitation for something like this to happen." Pence, a former governor of Indiana, has played a largely behind-the-scenes role in Trump's White House, although he is known to have presidential ambitions of his own. His deference has endeared him to Trump, helping Pence survive in a White House with near-constant turnover among top officials. But he has sometimes been ridiculed for his public obsequiousness to his boss. Earlier this year Trump put Pence in charge of the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic, a brief that has not gone well. The nation's death toll from the virus is over 207,000. New cases of Covid-19 rose in 27 out of 50 US states in September compared with August, a Reuters analysis showed. File photo Photo: AFP World leaders respond UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is among international leaders who have sent their best wishes to the Trumps. Johnson wrote on Twitter: "My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady. Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus." Other world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, also sent messages of support to the couple. Russian President Vladimir Putin said: "I am certain that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with this dangerous virus." The president's niece, Mary Trump, who wrote a scathing book about her uncle, had this message: "I reserve my sympathy, empathy, and despair for those who are sick and for those who have died because they were misled, lied to, or ignored." - BBC / Reuters

The release of the next James Bond film has been delayed again, due to Covid-19. Photo: AFP The premiere of No Time To Die had already moved from April to November 2020, due to the pandemic. It has now been further delayed until 2 April 2021 "in order to be seen by a worldwide theatrical audience", a statement on the film's website said. "We understand the delay will be disappointing to our fans, but we now look forward to sharing No Time To Die next year." No Time To Die is due to be actor Daniel Craig's final appearance as the British secret service agent. The last Bond film, Spectre, took almost £690 million (NZ $1346m) at worldwide box offices in 2015. -BBC

US President Donald Trump is being flown to Walter Reed Medical Center after he and his wife Melania tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday. Photo: AFP 11:17 Trump, wearing a suit and a mask, walked onto Marine One, which had landed on the lawn of the White House. He waved to the news media but did not stop for questions. Marine One has arrived on the White House South Lawn to take President Trump to Water Reed Medical Center where is expected to remain for multiple days after COVID-19 diagnosis pic.twitter.com/qOip61lrkP — Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) October 2, 2020 Trump, 74, will be moved to a special suite at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for the next few days as a precautionary measure, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said. "Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the President will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days," she said in a statement. The White House has confirmed there will be no transfer of power. Trump has a mild fever, according to a source familiar with the matter. White House doctor Sean P Conley wrote in a memo that he is "fatigued but in good spirits." It was the latest recent setback for the Republican president, who is trailing Democratic rival Joe Biden in opinion polls ahead of the presidential election next month. Biden himself and his wife, Jill, tested negative today. Trump, who has played down the threat of the coronavirus pandemic from the outset, wrote on Twitter earlier on Friday that he and his wife Melania were going into quarantine after testing positive for the virus, which has killed more than 200,000 Americans and severely damaged the U.S. economy. An active Twitter user, Trump has not posted any messages since then. Bystanders watch after the helicopter lands to collect US President Donald Trump who is suffering from Covid-19. Photo: AFP Trump is at high risk because of his age and weight. He has remained in apparent good health during his time in office but is not known to exercise regularly or to follow a healthy diet. Conley said Trump has received a single dose of Regeneron's polyclonal antibody cocktail, a technique that is used for treating a wide range of illnesses. Data is limited on its effectiveness for Covid-19 but US infectious disease chief Dr. Anthony Fauci is among those saying it has promise. Trump is also taking zinc, Vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin and a daily aspirin. Earlier, Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows said the president was "on the job" and "in good spirits", adding that he expected him to make a quick recovery. Meadows said the president remained energetic, and gave him his usual five or six tasks this morning. "I hope this serves as a reminder," Biden tweeted after the result. "Wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands." Other close members of Trump's family have tested negative. Officials said the process of tracking all the president's contacts in recent days was ongoing, adding that Trump was considering how he might address the nation or otherwise communicate with the American people later today. Yesterday, the first couple said they intended to self-isolate after one of Trump's closest aides, Hope Hicks, tested positive. Soon afterwards, they too received positive test results. But there has been criticism of Trump's decision to go to a fundraiser attended by dozens of people in New Jersey on Thursday, apparently when officials already knew about Hicks's symptoms. Hicks, 31, travelled with Trump on Air Force One to the first presidential TV debate with Biden in Ohio on Wednesday. Some of Trump's family members who attended the debate were seen not wearing masks. The process of tracking all Donald Trump's contacts in recent days has begun in the US. Photo: AFP Pence negative Vice President Mike Pence, next in line for the Oval Office, has tested negative for Covid-19, hours after Trump announced that he was infected, Pence's spokesperson said. Trump's test result cast a spotlight on Pence, a Christian conservative former lawmaker who has been one of the few constants in the Republican president's tumultuous administration, a little more than a month before the two seek re-election to a second term. Vice President Mike Pence, next in line to Donald Trump, has tested negative to Covid-19. Photo: AFP Pence, 61, is scheduled to debate his Democratic rival, Joe Biden's running mate Senator Kamala Harris on Wednesday (US time), and it was not immediately clear how or if Trump's positive test would change that plan. "This morning, Vice President Pence and the Second Lady tested negative for Covid-19. Vice President Pence remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery," spokesman Devin O'Malley said on Twitter. Trump and Pence will work from separate residences, a White House official told Reuters, and their staffs will also be separated to protect Pence should he need to assume the duties of the presidency. Pence receives the same intelligence briefings as the president. Pence would take over as acting president should Trump become incapacitated while undergoing medical treatment. That has happened three times in US history. Then-President George W Bush temporarily transferred power to Vice President Dick Cheney twice, for a few hours each in 2002 and 2007, while undergoing colonoscopies. Vice President George H W Bush was acting president for nearly eight hours in 1985 while President Ronald Reagan had a pre-cancerous lesion removed. Nancy Pelosi Photo: AP The White House said Trump is "not incapacitated" and is working in isolation while experiencing mild symptoms. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi is next in line of succession after Pence. She said on Friday that she had been tested for Covid-19 and should know her results soon. In response to Trump's positive diagnosis, she said: "This is tragic. It's very sad. ... Going into crowds unmasked and all the rest was sort of a brazen invitation for something like this to happen." Pence, a former governor of Indiana, has played a largely behind-the-scenes role in Trump's White House, although he is known to have presidential ambitions of his own. His deference has endeared him to Trump, helping Pence survive in a White House with near-constant turnover among top officials. But he has sometimes been ridiculed for his public obsequiousness to his boss. Earlier this year Trump put Pence in charge of the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic, a brief that has not gone well. The nation's death toll from the virus is over 207,000. New cases of Covid-19 rose in 27 out of 50 US states in September compared with August, a Reuters analysis showed. File photo Photo: AFP World leaders respond UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is among international leaders who have sent their best wishes to the Trumps. Johnson wrote on Twitter: "My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady. Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus." Other world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, also sent messages of support to the couple. Russian President Vladimir Putin said: "I am certain that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with this dangerous virus." The president's niece, Mary Trump, who wrote a scathing book about her uncle, had this message: "I reserve my sympathy, empathy, and despair for those who are sick and for those who have died because they were misled, lied to, or ignored." - BBC / Reuters

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced plans for tougher laws to tackle what he called "Islamist separatism" and to defend secular values. French President Emmanuel Macron delivering a speech on his strategy to fight separatism, near Paris. Photo: AFP In a keenly awaited speech, Macron said a minority of France's estimated six million Muslims were in danger of forming a "counter-society". His proposals include stricter oversight of schooling and control over foreign funding of mosques. He had been under pressure to address radical Islam amid security fears. But his comments were condemned by some Muslim activists who accused him of trying to repress Islam in the country. Under France's strict principles of secularism, or laïcité, the government is separated by law from religious institutions. The idea is that people of different religions and beliefs are equal before the law. The minaret on top of Maryam Mosque in the city of Caen, northwestern France. Photo: AFP The country has the largest population of Muslims in Western Europe. Many complain the authorities use secularism to specifically target them, for instance in banning the hijab. Speaking outside Paris on Friday, Macron said radical Islam was a danger to France because it held its own laws above all others and "often results in the creation of a counter-society". He said this form of sectarianism often translated into children being kept out of school, and the use of sporting, cultural and other community activities as a "pretext to teach principles that do not conform to the laws of the republic". "Islam is a religion that is in crisis all over the world today, we are not just seeing this in our country." The measures announced by the president will form legislation that will go to parliament before the end of the year. They include: stricter monitoring of sports organisations and other associations, so that they don't become a front for Islamist teaching an end to the system of imams being sent to France from abroad improved oversight of the financing of mosques home-schooling restricted Macron also said France must do more to offer economic and social mobility to immigrant communities, adding that radicals had often filled the vacuum. Tens of thousands protested against Islamophobia in Paris, on 10 November, last year. Photo: AFP He speech was the fruit of many months of discussions with religious leaders and intellectuals, says the BBC's Hugh Schofield, in Paris. It is being spun by the Élysée Palace as a sign that he wants to talk openly and without embarrassment about the dangers posed by radical Islam. Many also see the address as an attempt to appeal to right-wing voters ahead of the 2022 presidential election, Schofield adds. Islam is increasingly seen as a threat to France's core values in the wake of several terror attacks targeting secular liberties such as freedom of expression. Last week a man wounded two people with a meat cleaver outside the former Paris offices of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine, which the government denounced as "Islamist terrorism". In January 2015, jihadists killed 12 people in and around the magazine's offices to avenge its publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed. Muslims in France have roundly condemned the violence, and some reacted angrily to Macron's proposals on Friday. "The repression of Muslims has been a threat, now it is a promise," tweeted French human rights activist Yasser Louati. "In a one hour speech #Macron burried [sic] #laïcité, emboldened the far right, anti-Muslim leftists and threatened the lives of Muslim students by calling for drastic limits on home schooling despite a global pandemic." -BBC

Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein has been charged with six more counts of sexual assault in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles District Attorney says. Los Angeles officials have already started extradition proceedings to bring Harvey Weinstein to the city from a New York jail. Photo: AFP / Getty The charges involve two victims of alleged incidents that occurred more than 10 years ago. Weinstein now faces 11 sexual assault charges in Los Angeles County involving five women, District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement. In March, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault. During that trial in New York, the 68-year-old was found guilty of committing a first-degree criminal sexual act against one woman and third-degree rape of another woman. The latest charges allege that he raped a woman at a hotel in Beverly Hills between 2004 and 2005, and raped another woman twice - in November 2009 and November 2010. In January, Weinstein was charged with sexually assaulting two women in 2013. Then in April, a further charge alleging that he assaulted a woman at a Beverly Hills hotel in 2010 was added. Los Angeles officials have already started extradition proceedings, however, this has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Another extradition hearing is set to take place in December. In March, Weinstein himself was said to have tested positive for coronavirus in a prison in upstate New York. A spokesman for Weinstein said: "Harvey Weinstein has always maintained that every one of his physical encounters throughout his entire life have been consensual. That hasn't changed." The spokesman said they would not comment on the additional charges. Allegations against Weinstein began to emerge in 2017 when the New York Times first reported incidents dating back over decades. He issued an apology acknowledging that he had "caused a lot of pain", but disputed the allegations. As dozens more emerged, Weinstein was sacked from the board of his company and all but banished from Hollywood. A criminal investigation was launched in New York in late 2017, but Weinstein was not charged until May 2018 when he turned himself in to police. When he was sentenced to prison in March this year, jurors acquitted him of the most serious charges of predatory sexual assault, which could have seen him given an even longer jail term. -BBC

A Russian news editor has died after setting herself on fire in front of an interior ministry office in the city of Nizhniy Novgorod. Nizhniy Novgorod, where Irina Slavina set herself alight. Photo: Viator Irina Slavina earlier wrote on Facebook: "I ask you to blame the Russian Federation for my death." Authorities confirmed her body had been found with severe burns. Slavina said on Thursday police had searched her flat looking for materials related to the pro-democracy group Open Russia. Computers and data were seized. Footage has emerged apparently showing the moment she set herself on fire on a bench in Gorky Street, where the interior ministry in Nizhny Novgorod is situated. In the video, a man is seen running to a woman to help extinguish the flames. She repeatedly pushes him back as he tries to use his coat to stop the fire, before she eventually falls to the ground. Russia's Investigative Committee confirmed that Irina Slavina, who leaves behind a husband and daughter, had died but denied any connection to a search of the journalist's flat. 'Fined all the time' - dead woman's colleague Irina Slavina was editor-in-chief of the small Koza Press news website. Its motto is "news and analytics" and "no censorship". Its website went down on Friday, as news of her death was confirmed. She was one of seven people in Nizhny Novgorod whose homes were searched on Thursday, apparently as part of an inquiry into Open Russia. Last year, she was fined for "disrespecting authorities" in one of her articles. "This news was a real blow for me, I knew her," said Natalia Gryaznevich, an aide to exiled Open Russia founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky. "I know she was harassed, detained, fined all the time. She was a very active woman," she told BBC Moscow correspondent Sarah Rainsford. In a Facebook post on Thursday, she said 12 people had forced their way into her family's flat and seized flash drives, her laptop and her daughter's laptop as well as phones belonging to both her and her husband. Why was her home searched? The investigative committee insisted that Slavina was only a witness in their case - "and neither a suspect, nor accused, in the investigation of the criminal case", a spokesperson told Ria Novosti. That criminal case appears to focus on a local businessman who allowed various opposition groups to use his spoof church for forums and other activities including training election monitors. Mikhail Iosilevich created the so-called Flying Spaghetti Monster church in 2016 whose followers were dubbed Pastafarians. Gryaznevich told the BBC that Open Russia had taken part in a "Free People" forum in April 2019 in Nizhny Novgorod which Irina Slavina had attended as a journalist. Neither the man being investigated nor Slavina herself were part of Open Russia, she stressed. She said the journalist had been fined $NZ97 because of her coverage of the event. The authorities had decided that the event she covered was connected to an "undesirable organisation", according to Gryaznevich. A swathe of tougher media and internet laws have recently come into force in Russia amid concern they may be used by the government to silence its critics. The Kremlin said at the time the legislation was needed to improve cyber security. -BBC

US President Donald Trump has mild symptoms of Covid-19 after he and his wife, Melania, tested positive for the coronavirus, the White House says. The process of tracking all Donald Trump's contacts in recent days has begun in the US. Photo: AFP Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, said the president was "on the job" and "in good spirits", adding that he expected him to make a quick recovery. Meadows said the president remains energetic, and gave him his usual five or six tasks this morning. The news comes just over a month before presidential elections, where he will face Democratic challenger Joe Biden. Biden himself and his wife, Jill, tested negative today. "I hope this serves as a reminder," Biden tweeted after the result. "Wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands." Other close members of Trump's family have tested negative. Officials said the process of tracking all the president's contacts in recent days was ongoing, adding that Trump was considering how he might address the nation or otherwise communicate with the American people later today. Yesterday, the first couple said they intended to self-isolate after one of Trump's closest aides, Hope Hicks, tested positive. Soon afterwards, they too received positive test results. But there has been criticism of Trump's decision to go to a fundraiser attended by dozens of people in New Jersey on Thursday, apparently when officials already knew about Hicks's symptoms. Hicks, 31, travelled with Trump on Air Force One to the first presidential TV debate with Biden in Ohio on Wednesday. Some of Trump's family members who attended the debate were seen not wearing masks. Pence negative Vice President Mike Pence, next in line for the Oval Office, has tested negative for Covid-19, hours after Trump announced that he was infected, Pence's spokesperson said. Trump's test result cast a spotlight on Pence, a Christian conservative former lawmaker who has been one of the few constants in the Republican president's tumultuous administration, a little more than a month before the two seek re-election to a second term. Vice President Mike Pence, next in line to Donald Trump, has tested negative to Covid-19. Photo: AFP Pence, 61, is scheduled to debate his Democratic rival, Joe Biden's running mate Senator Kamala Harris on Wednesday (US time), and it was not immediately clear how or if Trump's positive test would change that plan. "This morning, Vice President Pence and the Second Lady tested negative for Covid-19. Vice President Pence remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery," spokesman Devin O'Malley said on Twitter. Trump and Pence will work from separate residences, a White House official told Reuters, and their staffs will also be separated to protect Pence should he need to assume the duties of the presidency. Pence receives the same intelligence briefings as the president. Pence would take over as acting president should Trump become incapacitated while undergoing medical treatment. That has happened three times in US history. Then-President George W Bush temporarily transferred power to Vice President Dick Cheney twice, for a few hours each in 2002 and 2007, while undergoing colonoscopies. Vice President George H W Bush was acting president for nearly eight hours in 1985 while President Ronald Reagan had a pre-cancerous lesion removed. Nancy Pelosi Photo: AP The White House said Trump is "not incapacitated" and is working in isolation while experiencing mild symptoms. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi is next in line of succession after Pence. She said on Friday that she had been tested for Covid-19 and should know her results soon. In response to Trump's positive diagnosis, she said: "This is tragic. It's very sad. ... Going into crowds unmasked and all the rest was sort of a brazen invitation for something like this to happen." Pence, a former governor of Indiana, has played a largely behind-the-scenes role in Trump's White House, although he is known to have presidential ambitions of his own. His deference has endeared him to Trump, helping Pence survive in a White House with near-constant turnover among top officials. But he has sometimes been ridiculed for his public obsequiousness to his boss. Earlier this year Trump put Pence in charge of the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic, a brief that has not gone well. The nation's death toll from the virus is over 207,000. New cases of Covid-19 rose in 27 out of 50 US states in September compared with August, a Reuters analysis showed. World leaders respond UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is among international leaders who have sent their best wishes to the Trumps. Johnson wrote on Twitter: "My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady. Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus." Other world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, also sent messages of support to the couple. Russian President Vladimir Putin said: "I am certain that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with this dangerous virus." The president's niece, Mary Trump, who wrote a scathing book about her uncle, had this message: "I reserve my sympathy, empathy, and despair for those who are sick and for those who have died because they were misled, lied to, or ignored." - BBC / Reuters

Scotland's first minister says the actions of an SNP MP who travelled to Westminster despite experiencing Covid symptoms are "utterly indefensible". MP Margaret Ferrier shares a moment with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a function in Dundee last December. Photo: AFP Margaret Ferrier said she made the journey because she was feeling "much better" - but also returned home after getting a positive test result. The Scottish National Party MP, who has been suspended by her party, said there was "no excuse for my actions". First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted her support for the decision to suspend the MP. She said: "This is utterly indefensible. It's hard to express just how angry I feel on behalf of people across the country making hard sacrifices every day to help beat Covid. "The rules apply to everyone and they're in place to keep people safe. @Ianblackford_MP is right to suspend the whip." One of Ferrier's former SNP colleagues, Glasgow East MP David Linden, has also said she "should resign" as an MP. Ferrier said she took a test on Saturday after experiencing "mild symptoms", but travelled to London on Monday as she felt better. The MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West spoke in the coronavirus debate in the House of Commons on Monday, and said she received her positive test result that evening. She then took a train back to Scotland on Tuesday. Ferrier said she had informed the police and that she deeply regretted her actions. "I travelled home by train on Tuesday morning without seeking advice. This was also wrong and I am sorry," she said. "I have been self-isolating at home ever since." Police confirm investigation Police Scotland confirmed they had been contacted by Ferrier, saying officers were "looking into the circumstances" and liaising with the Metropolitan Police Service. The SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford said he had spoken to Ferrier, who accepted that what she had done was wrong. He said: "Margaret will be referring herself to the parliamentary standards commissioner as well as the police. I am tonight suspending the whip from Margaret." The Covid-positive MP has been suspended by the SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford. Photo: AFP House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle wrote to MPs on Thursday evening to say he was informed after Ferrier told the SNP whip on Wednesday afternoon that she had tested positive for Covid-19. "The House authorities immediately took all necessary steps in line with their legal obligations and PHE [Public Health England] Guidance," he wrote. "On the basis of the information supplied to the contact tracing system, only one individual has been identified as a close contact in relation to this case and is now self-isolating." A House of Commons spokesperson said the House's priority was to ensure the safety of those working on the estate. 'Dangerous and disgraceful' - train drivers' union Labour MP Ian Murray said Ferrier had shown "astonishing recklessness". "She has put passengers, rail staff, fellow MPs, Commons staff and many others at unacceptable risk," he said. "To breach the rules twice is simply unforgivable, and has undermined all the sacrifices made by her constituents." Train drivers union Aslef described her actions as "both dangerous and disgraceful". The Scottish Conservatives' Holyrood leader, Ruth Davidson, said knowingly taking public transport after testing positive for Covid-19 put lives at risk. Ferrier was one of the MPs who called on the prime minister's adviser, Dominic Cummings, to resign in the wake of the controversy over his visit to the north east of England during lockdown. At the time, she said his actions had "undermined the sacrifices that we have all been making" and described his position as "untenable".