To Scotland, where more SNP ministers are under scrutiny over their use of official limousines with First Minister John Swinney facing calls to investigate the matter. It’s not a good look for the Nats who, alongside ministerial slip-ups, have the ongoing police probe into the party’s funds and finances to contend with. Dear oh dear…
It transpires that rural affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon took her husband to a Six Nations rugby game between Scotland and France last February as guests of Salmon Scotland. She classed the trip as official government business but due to her failure to take an official with her, there was no formal record of what was discussed and the tickets were not declared as gifts. More than that, the Scottish Daily Mail has also reported that community safety minister Siobhian Brown and ex-equalities minister Emma Roddick brought guests along on chauffeured trips to international football and rugby games to wish Scotland ‘good luck’ – on the public purse.
It follows a number of high profile debacles over use of public funds by SNP politicians. First there was the £11,000 iPad scandal, which caused a headache for hapless Humza Yousaf and pushed former SNP health secretary Michael Matheson out of his government job. Then his successor Neil Gray ended up in the spotlight after the Sunday Mail revealed that the nationalist minister had been using ministerial cars to take him to sports matches. Alright for some.
The SNP government has claimed: ‘Where ministers attend events in an official capacity, these are recorded as official engagements, not hospitality. Whilst ministers are usually accompanied by civil servants at official events, there may be occasions where this is not required or possible.’ That hasn’t stopped the Scottish Tories from urging Swinney to launch a probe into the matter, however, with deputy leader Rachael Hamilton remarking:
John Swinney might think this matter is closed, but until his health secretary and other ministers are fully transparent over their use of government limos, the public won’t let it lie. The First Minister must look at how he can investigate the behaviour of a growing number of his ministers.
Indeed!
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