The Scottish Parliament has announced an unprecedented investigation into the SNP’s Health Secretary after The Telegraph revealed he paid £11,000 in internet roaming charges on holiday and billed the taxpayer.
Holyrood’s governing body (SPCB) will examine whether Michael Matheson breached the MSP code of conduct by paying the extraordinary £10,935.74 bill during a family holiday to Morocco last Christmas.
He accused his teenage sons of using his parliamentary iPad as an internet hotspot to watch football, despite previously giving Holyrood written assurances that the entire amount was spent on constituency business.
The code of conduct states: “Any payments or allowances made to members for public purposes must not be used improperly.”
This is the first such investigation carried out by the body corporate since devolution began in 1999.
If the SPCB concludes that this rule has been breached, it may refer the matter to Holyrood’s standards committee; This committee also has the power to recommend to Parliament “the withdrawal of any of the rights and privileges of the member”.
Mr Matheson promised “full co-operation” with the investigation but Scottish Conservative Party leader Douglas Ross accused him of trying to “dupe taxpayers out of £11,000”.
Scottish Labor deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said the Health Secretary should resign because he was “too busy fighting for his job” to oversee the NHS “on the brink of a deadly winter crisis”.
Asked whether SNP ministers always tell the public the truth, Deputy First Minister Shona Robison will only say that the Scottish Government “aims” to do so.
Holyrood officials gave Mr Matheson a statement on February 7 showing the bill had risen on football match days. Opposition MSPs were quick to publicize the link when it was made public last week.
But Mr Matheson told Parliament he only used the iPad for constituency matters, which allowed him to use taxpayer-funded spending to fund £3,000 of the bill. Holyrood funded the balance of £7,935.74 from its own budget.
He agreed to pay back the money out of his own pocket after the Telegraph revealed the bill two weeks ago. His annual salary is £118,511.
In his statement to the Parliament last week, he claimed that he learned that his sons were using the device to watch football on November 9, upon his wife’s notice.
However, on November 13, he told the press that no one else was using the device and that it was not for personal use. Mr Matheson did not explain how he thought he had drafted the constituency affairs bill.
The roaming charges bill on January 2, the day of the Old Firm match between Rangers and Celtic, was £7,345.69 but this was a public holiday.
The SPCB consists of one MSP from each of the SNP, Conservative Party, Labor Party and the Greens. It is usually led by Holyrood’s deputy leader, Alison Johnstone, but she is not on medical leave.
Instead, the other four members will take turns leading the group during the investigation. In a statement issued after the meeting on Thursday morning, the parliamentary speaker said the SPCB had a “vital interest in the integrity” of the MSP spending plan.
Investigation to assess whether roaming charges are ‘appropriate’
In particular, he referred to “the principle that SPCB-financed resources should be used for parliamentary purposes and that there should be public confidence in these matters.”
“Therefore, the corporate body will carry out an investigation in line with its duties under the MSP code of conduct,” he said.
“The investigation will consider whether claims of £11,000 of public money through data roaming charges are appropriate and meet the requirements of the scheme, and whether the resources were used for parliamentary purposes in accordance with all SPCB policies.
“SPCB will seek to conclude its investigation promptly and its findings will in fact be published.”
If the body corporate determines that Mr Matheson has used his expenses improperly, it may refer the matter to the standards committee. A wide range of sanctions are available, including banning Mr Matheson from Holyrood or claiming costs.
Mr Ross welcomed the investigation but warned Health Minister and First Minister Humza Yousaf that he “cannot hide behind this” to avoid responding publicly to the scandal.
The Scottish Tory leader said: “Michael Matheson has given Parliament written assurances that this £11,000 bill is the result of constituency work, and that alone. But his story has changed and he now wants us to believe that he has no idea how that bill came to be.
“If he had no idea how that bill was framed, why did he ask for taxpayer money for it? Michael Matheson is fooling the public.”
Dame Jackie said: “We cannot allow the people of Scotland to be failed by a distracted Health Secretary who is more interested in protecting ministerial pay than protecting our NHS.
“It is clear that Michael Matheson must go and let a new Health Secretary focus on the crisis in the NHS.”
Speaking to reporters after Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Matheson said: “I welcome the decision taken by the body corporate following my letter to them last week asking them to investigate this matter.
“I will of course fully cooperate with their investigation and it would be inappropriate for me to comment further.”
Asked why Mr Matheson was still employed, Mr Yousaf told MSPs: “Michael Matheson acknowledges and admits to this board that he made errors in transactions.
“He did what he did to protect his young children. Did he make a mistake? Definitely. Did he admit this? Definitely. Did he agree to refund the full amount? Absolutely.” The First Minister’s official spokesman also said he would co-operate.
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