LONDON — A senior Scottish government minister has blamed a £11,000 data roaming charge — incurred on a parliamentary iPad — on his sons watching football.
The Scottish National Party’s under-fire Health Secretary Michael Matheson made the admission in the Scottish Parliament Thursday, as he came under pressure for the huge bill he ran up while on holiday in Morocco last year.
The expense from his parliamentary iPad was initially met by the Scottish Parliament, which was told by Matheson that the device was only used for work. He has since paid the money back after the Scottish media reported on the charges last week.
As the pressure for an explanation grew, Matheson told Scottish lawmakers Thursday that he was not aware that other family members had used the device until last Thursday.
He explained that his failure to come clean about this in a statement last Friday or in response to questions from journalists earlier this week was down to a desire to protect his family “from being part of the political and media scrutiny associated with this.”
“I am a father first and foremost. That was a mistake and I am sorry,” he told MSPs, announcing that he has referred himself to the parliament for an investigation.
“I can see now that it just isn’t possible to explain the data usage without explaining their role. The simple truth is they [his sons] watched football matches,” he added.
Matheson has been backed by Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf, who said he had absolute confidence in his health secretary. He is likely to face further pressure — with the opposition Scottish Conservatives threatening to table a parliamentary motion of no-confidence in the minister.
