SNP MP Michael Matheson faces suspension from Scottish Parliament over £11,000 iPad bill UK News

Michael Matheson took the parliamentary iPad with him on a week-long visit with his family to Morocco around Christmas 2022. His roaming charges for the iPad – not for phone calls – totaled almost £11,000.

MSP Michael Matheson is to be suspended from Holyrood for 27 sitting days and lose his salary for 54 days over his £11,000 iPad data roaming bill.

Mr. Matheson was sanctioned by the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee on Thursday.

The decision will now go to MSPs for approval.

This came after the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) concluded in March that this was the case violated the MSP Code of Conduct.

The SNP MSP for Falkirk West resigned as Health Minister of Scotland in February and cited the SPCB investigation as the reason.

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.

Committee chairman and Labor MP Martin Whitfield said the sanctions reflected the seriousness of the breach.

He explained: “Without mitigating factors, including the impact on the member and his family, the proposed sanctions would likely have been greater.”

The committee unanimously recommended salary suspension for 54 days.

The suspension of 27 days of sitting was recommended by committee member MSP Annie Wells and supported by his Conservative colleague Oliver Mundell.

SNP members Jackie Dunbar and Alasdair Allan dissented, with the deciding vote being cast by the leader, Mr Whitfield.

Mr Whitfield said: “I did not vote from a personal perspective. But in my capacity as Chair, I am aware that the Committee would otherwise not have been in a position to make a recommendation.”

“I supported the proposal to exclude a period of 27 days of sittings.”

SPB launched an investigation in November after Mr Matheson took the parliamentary iPad with him on a week-long visit with his family to Morocco around Christmas 2022.

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

Mr Matheson – who as Scotland The Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care later had an annual salary of £118,511 agreed to pay the money back to the Scottish Parliament.

After the story made headlines, it became public Teenage sons had used the iPad as a hotspot for watching football on family vacations.

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

Mr Matheson, who was appointed Minister for Health last March Al-Humza Yousaf When he became First Minister, he told Holyrood that he was unaware that his sons had been using the iPad as a hotspot when he first tabled the bill.

He claimed his wife told him the truth after the story sparked a public outcry.

After his wife’s admission, Mr Matheson initially refused to mention his sons’ involvement publicly, instead continuing to insist that the iPad was only being used for parliamentary work and blaming 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 personal use until he made a statement to Holyrood.

Mr Matheson tendered his resignation as Health Minister before formally receiving the results of the SPCB’s review.

He said his resignation was “in the best interests” of himself and the Scottish Government to ensure he was “not distracted from delivering the government agenda”.

In response, the then First Minister, Mr Yousaf, said he accepted Mr Matheson’s resignation “with sadness”.

The sanctions are expected to increase calls for Mr Matheson to resign as an MSP.

Jackie Baillie, deputy leader of the Scottish Labor Party, said: “This damning verdict is another sad chapter for an SNP government that is collapsing under the weight of its own corruption.”

“Michael Matheson treated the public with contempt and the upper echelons of the SNP banded together to protect him by putting party interests above the national interest.”

“It cannot be right that an MSP can ride roughshod over the rules without giving the public the chance to overturn them – Scottish Labor would introduce a recall right as part of our plans to clean up Holyrood.”

Mr Matheson has been contacted for comment.