Disgraced former SNP health secretary facing demands to quit Holyrood
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Michael Matheson, the former SNP health secretary, is facing demands to quit Holyrood after he was found to have broken rules by attempting to claim an £11,000 iPad data roaming bill from taxpayers.
The MSP for Falkirk West breached two sections of the code of conduct in relation to the claim, incurred after his sons used the device to watch football matches while on a family holiday in Morocco, a Scottish Parliament inquiry found.
Mr Matheson, previously one of Humza Yousaf’s most trusted ministers, initially claimed he used the iPad for parliamentary work only. He said he only found out later about his sons’ use of the device and agreed to repay the sum.
However, it was found that he broke sections of the MSP code which state that politicians must not make “improper use” of allowances and should abide by parliament’s policies. Three complaints were upheld against him.
The report into his conduct, written by the parliament’s corporate body, is to be published once Holyrood’s standards, procedures and public appointments committee decides what sanction he should face.
Opposition parties said the findings also raised serious questions for Mr Yousaf, after he spent weeks defending Mr Matheson and backing his claim that he had not been dishonest.
The Scottish Tories called on Mr Matheson to “do the right thing and resign as an MSP now”, a move which would create a potentially difficult by-election for the SNP in what was previously considered a safe nationalist seat.
Mr Matheson is also facing renewed calls to hand back almost £13,000 in severance pay he is due under parliamentary rules.
“This is a devastating and damning report for the disgraced former health secretary,” Craig Hoy, the chairman of the Scottish Tories, said.
“It is little wonder he was shamefully stalling for time on its publication given he has been found to have breached the MSPs’ code of conduct multiple times.
“This amounts to the most serious of charges against any elected member. He must also confirm that he will not take a penny of his ministerial severance pay given what the report has found.
“Humza Yousaf also must urgently explain why he backed his former cabinet colleague for so long, rather than sacking him when his lies were first uncovered.”
It has previously been reported that the investigation found Mr Matheson misled Aliston Johnstone, the presiding officer – Holyrood’s equivalent of the Commons speaker – about how he came to have used so much data on the device.
He had initially insisted the iPad had been used to conduct parliamentary business, only to change his story, saying he later found out his sons had used it to stream football matches.
In early 2023 he paid £3,000 towards the bill from parliamentary expenses and Holyrood covered the rest, after initially accepting his argument that the charges related to parliamentary work.
However, his account unravelled after his data roaming bill was released, showing most of the data was used on two days when there were major Scottish football matches, including a Rangers v Celtic clash.
Mr Matheson stuck to the story in public even after he said he was told, on Nov 9, by his wife that his sons had used the iPad to watch football matches.
He admitted the truth on Nov 16, but refused to resign as health secretary until Feb 8.
Dame Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader, said: “The findings pose serious questions for the First Minister and the SNP government.
“The fact is that Humza Yousaf and senior ministers were complicit in Michael Matheson’s attempt to mislead the parliament. This is a serious error of judgment.”
Mr Matheson was approached for comment.
