Another day, another tech-related scandal for the SNP. Health secretary Michael Matheson has come under fire for running up a whopping £11,000 bill on his iPad in roaming charges — and initially being prepared to let the taxpayer pick up the bill. Today he gave a lengthy speech explaining himself to the Scottish parliament. He repeatedly choked back tears as he fought to save his career…
He told MSPs that ‘the simple truth’ is that his teenage sons had used his parliamentary device to stream football matches — a fact Matheson claims he was only made aware of by his wife last Thursday evening. Having to stop a number of times as emotion overwhelmed him, Matheson told the Chamber:
I wanted to protect my family from being part of the political and media scrutiny associated with this, something I believe any parent would want to do. I am a father first and foremost. I can see now that it’s just not possible to explain the data usage without explaining their role.
Voice cracking, the health secretary admitted:
Disclosing this information about my family has been extremely difficult. Mistakes have been made by me and by my family… I accept that, take responsibility and apologise unreservedly. That is why the costs have now been fully reimbursed to Parliament. And that is why I have referred myself to the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body under section seven of the MSP Code of Conduct.
Emotional stuff — but it comes just 48 hours after Matheson told a very different story to the press. On Monday, the Scotsman asked him directly about his iPad: ‘Was there any personal use?’ Matheson replied with a clear ‘no’. Yet that was four days after he had learned that the data had been used by family members. Labour’s Jackie Baillie slammed Matheson’s ‘cover up’ for only having the effect of ‘heightening the media scrutiny’, while Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross suggested Matheson had misled both parliament and the people of Scotland.
You can’t be a cabinet member and lie to the media – except, perhaps, in Humza Yousaf’s Scotland.
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