Scottish parliament body to investigate minister over £11,000 iPad bill

The cross-party body in charge of the Scottish parliament has launched an investigation into Michael Matheson as the row over his £11,000 iPad bill rumbles on.

It comes after deputy first minister Shona Robison said Scottish government ministers “aim” to tell the truth as questions remain over whether the Scottish health secretary misled the public in regards to the data roaming charges racked up on his parliamentary device.

Mr Matheson choked back tears during a statement to Holyrood last week as he admitted his teenage sons had used the iPad as a hotspot to watch football while on a family holiday to Morocco.

The nearly £11,000 data roaming bill was initially paid for by taxpayers after Mr Matheson claimed he ran up the eye-watering invoice undertaking constituency work during the week-long break last winter.

After the story hit the headlines earlier this month, the Falkirk West MSP claimed he was then told by his wife that his sons had been streaming football.

Mr Matheson – who as Scotland’s cabinet secretary for NHS recovery, health and social care has an annual salary of £118,511 – then agreed to pay the money back to the Scottish parliament.

In his statement to Holyrood, Mr Matheson said he would refer himself to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) for it to investigate the matter.

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A Holyrood spokesperson confirmed afterwards there is “no mechanism for the member to self-refer in this way”.

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The SPCB met on Thursday morning and announced the corporate body will undertake an investigation in line with its duties under the MSP Code of Conduct.

A Scottish parliament spokesperson said: “The investigation will consider whether the claims for £11,000 of public money, incurred through data roaming charges, were proper and met the requirements of the [Members’ Expenses Scheme] and whether resources were used for parliamentary purposes in accordance with all SPCB policies.”

The SPCB has pledged to conclude its probe “promptly” and will publish its findings.

Depending on the findings, it said a number of options could be open to the SPCB – including referral to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments (SPPA) Committee.

Speaking to journalists after First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, Mr Matheson said he would “fully cooperate” with the investigation.

Following his wife’s admission, Mr Matheson initially failed to publicly mention his sons’ involvement. Instead, he continued to insist the iPad was only used for parliamentary work and blamed an outdated SIM card for the excessive bill.

When questioned by journalists days after he knew the truth, he continued to deny the iPad was used for personal use.

When a breakdown of the bill was released via an FOI – which led to opposition MSPs speculating the iPad was used to stream a Rangers and Celtic game – Mr Matheson then revealed what happened.

During his statement at the Scottish parliament, Mr Matheson accepted that “mistakes” had been made by both himself and his family, but stressed he had been seeking to “protect” his children from “political and media scrutiny” by not earlier mentioning their role.

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Pressed on whether ministers “always tell parliament and the public the truth”, deputy first minister Shona Robison told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Thursday: “I aim, and the Scottish government aims, to do that.

“Michael Matheson made clear in his statement that he was trying to protect his family from being part of the associated political and media scrutiny.”

Asked if that means it is acceptable for ministers to lie to protect their families, Ms Robison insisted: “No, I didn’t say that.

“What I am saying is Michael Matheson set out the reasons that he was trying to protect his family, he set all that out to parliament.

“He has said he will cooperate with any inquiry that is established.”

Mr Matheson has the backing of several colleagues, including First Minister Humza Yousaf, rural affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon and SNP deputy leader Keith Brown.

Mr Yousaf described Mr Matheson as a “man of integrity, honesty”.

After Mr Yousaf came under fire at First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross welcomed the probe but said the “SNP government can’t hide behind it”.

He added: “Michael Matheson gave parliament written assurances that this £11,000 bill was the result of constituency work and that alone.

“But his story has changed, and he now wants us to believe he was clueless about how that bill happened.

“If he had no idea how that bill was run up, why on earth did he claim taxpayers’ money for it?

“Michael Matheson is taking the public for fools. He repeatedly misled the press and the public in multiple statements. If it was an honest mistake, why did he make so many dishonest statements about it?”

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