The Scottish Conservatives have said SNP health secretary Michael Matheson should be sacked for “dishonestly” claiming £11,000 of taxpayers’ money for an iPad bill.
At First Minister’s Questions, Humza Yousaf once again defended Michael Matheson in the face of claims he lied to parliamentary officials over how he racked up the data bill from a holiday in Morocco.
The health secretary incurred the £11,000 bill over the Christmas break. Around £7,300 of it covered a single day, which was a public holiday.
Mr Matheson has refused to hand over his iPad to be examined.
When the story broke, Humza Yousaf said the £11,000 bill was a “legitimate expense”, called Michael Matheson “a person of integrity and character” and gave him his “100% backing”.
In the chamber, he insisted the health secretary had made “honest mistakes” and praised him for taking “corrective action” after more information had been “discovered” about the controversy.
Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross said: “Michael Matheson cancelled a government visit to a Glasgow GP surgery. The health secretary has stopped doing his job.
“Scotland’s NHS is in crisis and we’re approaching winter. We need an honest health secretary who is focused on the job.
“All the evidence suggests Michael Matheson claimed £11,000 of taxpayers’ money when he knew he wasn’t doing parliamentary work. He made a potentially fraudulent attempt to dupe taxpayers out of this money.
“For nearly a year, Michael Matheson was happy to let taxpayers pick up his bill. He made no attempt to repay this – until he was caught.
“We’re expected to believe that the health secretary ran up this bill from Morocco over Christmas during public holidays when most people were not working. His story is farcical beyond belief.
“The First Minister has put his own personal reputation on the line by backing Michael Matheson every step of the way.
“He continues to do so by describing this as an ‘honest mistake’. Absurdly, he claims Michael Matheson had agreed to make a personal statement because more had been ‘discovered’ about this scandal.
“There’s a reason more has been ‘discovered’ – and that’s because his minister tried to cover up the facts.
“This wasn’t just a mistake. It was dishonest. Humza Yousaf must grow a backbone and sack Michael Matheson.”