Margaret Ferrer, an MP who was found to have broken lockdown rules by attending church while awaiting the results of a Covid test, will have to wait until next month to find out about her future in parliament.

The MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton was due to face a vote to determine a 30-day ban as a penalty for breaching Covid rules in 2020 this month. However, the vote was withdrawn amid suggestions that there needed to be more MPs to conduct it.

The vote will now take place next month after Westminster’s recess, and is expected that MPs will back the 30-day suspension.

Ferrier was sentenced to 270 hours of community service last year after she pleaded guilty to a culpable and reckless conduct charge. She had spoken in parliament, taken a train to Glasgow and attended church with Covid symptoms in 2020.

There are fears Ferrier’s suspension will lead to a by-election in her constituency as under Commons rules if an MP is suspended for ten days or more a so-called “recall petition” can be lodged.

The 62-year-old was elected as an SNP for the Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency in 2019 but lost her whip after a Commons' Standards Committee investigation found her actions had "caused significant damage" to the reputation of the House of Commons.

She now seats as an independent.