Matheson to receive initial findings of iPad roaming charges inquiry in January

The initial findings of a probe into Health Secretary Michael Matheson’s near-£11,000 data roaming bill will be given to him in January, Holyrood officials have said.

Mr Matheson racked up the charges during a holiday to Morocco last Christmas, and he recently admitted the fees were the result of his teenage sons using his parliamentary iPad as a hotspot to watch football.

Mr Matheson had initially agreed to claim £3,000 of the bill as part of his expenses allowance, while his office provision paid the rest – meaning the public purse covered the bill in full.

But after increasing pressure on the issue, the Health Secretary said he would pay the full cost himself.

Repeated calls have been made for Mr Matheson to resign, with opposition politicians pointing to his claim to journalists that there had been no personal use of the device, before telling MSPs days later his sons had used the data.

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body is investigating, and minutes of its meeting last week, published on Thursday, show the cross-party body has said it will likely be in a position to provide Mr Matheson with the findings of its report in January.

The minutes said: “The corporate body noted that a robust process and timeline would ensure fairness and help mitigate potential challenge to the SPCB.

“The initial statement of provisional findings would likely be provided to the member in January 2024, but the SPCB agreed that work should continue at pace.

“The SPCB agreed the final report would be published.”

It is not clear when the final report will be released, but the minutes also said Mr Matheson is expected to have up to two weeks to respond to the initial findings before the investigation is concluded.

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy, who has been one of the loudest voices calling for Mr Matheson to be sacked, said it is “disappointing” the inquiry will take into the new year “given how narrow the investigation’s remit is and the facts that are already known”.

He added: “The discredited Health Secretary will be given two weeks to respond to the initial findings before it’s made public, so we can only hope that the corporate body is robust in the event of any attempts by Michael Matheson to edit the report.

“Mr Matheson should have been dismissed weeks ago for his lies and cover-up. But we now face the prospect of him clinging on to his post into February at least – leaving our NHS saddled with a distracted Health Secretary during the winter crisis the SNP has created.”