MSPs vote to suspend former Scottish health minister Michael Matheson over £11,000 iPad bill | UK news

Members of Parliament have voted to suspend Scotland’s former health minister from Holyrood for 27 sitting days and strip him of his salary for 54 days over his £11,000 data roaming bill for his iPad.

A majority of MSPs supported the proposed sanction against Michael Matheson, who was recommended by the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, in a vote at Holyrood on Wednesday.

This came after the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) concluded in March that he violate the MSP Code of Conduct.

The suspension comes into effect on Thursday and is the harshest punishment ever imposed on an MSP.

A ban of ten days or more would be enough to trigger a recall petition in Westminster, but there is no such mechanism in the Scottish Parliament.

The MP for Falkirk West had previously described the sanction as “excessive” and “unfair”, while First Minister John Swinney claimed the trial was “biased” due to a critical comment from a committee member.

A total of 64 MSPs voted for the recommendations, while SNP members abstained.

However, the SNP managed to amend the motion to include complaints about the process, including a call for an “independent review” of the complaints process at Holyrood.

In a statement released afterwards, Mr Matheson said: “I apologise and regret that this situation has arisen. I recognise and accept Parliament’s decision.”

“I also note that Parliament has called on the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to undertake an independent review of Parliament’s complaints process in order to restore integrity and confidence in Parliament and its processes. I hope that this step will be taken forward.

“I look forward to continuing to represent the people of Falkirk West as I have done for many years.”

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Stay up to date with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Press here

What did Michael Matheson do?

Mr Matheson took the parliamentary iPad with him on a week-long visit with his family to Morocco around Christmas 2022.

Mr Matheson was Minister for Net Zero, Energy and Transport in Nicola Sturgeon Government at the time of the incident.

He was subsequently appointed Cabinet Secretary for NHS Reconstruction, Health and Social Care, as Al-Humza Yousaf became First Minister in March last year.

During his time as Health Minister – with an annual salary of £118,511 – the story Headlines.

His roaming charges for the iPad – not the phone calls – totalled almost £11,000 and were initially paid by the taxpayer after Mr Matheson claimed he had racked up the horrendous bill by working for his constituency while travelling.

It emerged that Mr Matheson had failed to replace an outdated SIM card, leading to the high bill. Officials at Holyrood challenged the bill on the grounds of the high data charges and the delay in warning of the rising costs, but previous provider EE refused to waive the bill.

Mr Matheson agreed to pay £3,000 from his expenses budget. Because the data was allegedly used for parliamentary purposes, the Scottish Parliament agreed to pay the rest.

Following a public outcry, Mr Matheson said agreed to repay the money to the Scottish Parliament. Questions remained about data usage – although the numbers appear to be higher on days when football matches took place.

Later it turned out that his Teenage sons had used the iPad as a hotspot to watch football during family vacation.

Mr Matheson told Holyrood he was unaware his sons were using the iPad as a hotspot when he tabled the bill, claiming his wife told him the truth after the story made national headlines.

After his wife’s confession, Matheson initially did not publicly mention his sons’ involvement. Instead, he continued to insist that the iPad was only used for parliamentary work and blamed an outdated SIM card for the inflated bill.

When questioned by journalists a few days after learning the truth, he continued to deny that the iPad had been used for private purposes until he made a statement to Holyrood.

The SPCB launched an investigation in Novemberwith Mr Matheson submit his resignation as Minister of Health before the results of the review were officially announced.

This breaking news story will be updated and further details will be released shortly.

Please refresh the page for the full version.

You can receive breaking news on your smartphone or tablet via the Sky News AppYou can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our Youtube channel to stay up to date with the latest news.