HEALTH Secretary Michael Matheson is coming under intense pressure to resign from opposition parties after he admitted that an £11,000 iPad bill had been racked up by his sons watching football.
Meghan Gallacher, the Scottish Conservatives’ deputy leader, claimed the SNP minister’s position is “untenable” following the revelations.
And Scottish Labour frontbencher Paul O’Kane also said Matheson should “reflect” on his government role.
Gallacher alleged that the SNP minister had “admitted lying to the public and press” after saying his teenage sons used his Holyrood-issued iPad while on holiday in Morocco.
He had initially insisted the device had only been used for parliamentary work during the trip.
Matheson made a personal statement to the Scottish Parliament on Thursday amid growing demands for him to explain the data use.
He apologised and said he had not mentioned his family’s involvement earlier because he was a “father first and foremost” and had wanted to “protect” his children from “the political and media scrutiny”.
Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Friday, Gallacher said Matheson’s story had “changed significantly”.
The Scottish Conservatives deputy leader said he had replied “no” when asked on Monday if there had been any personal use of the iPad.
Gallacher (below) said: “He knew about his family members using the data last week but he failed to mention anything to the media and public when questioned.
“Not only does that call into question Michael Matheson’s integrity, it also calls into question the First Minister’s integrity.”
She added: “I do believe that Michael Matheson’s position is now untenable because he admitted to lying to the public and the press.”
On Thursday, Matheson told Gallacher in the Scottish Parliament chamber that parliamentary officials had advised him the iPad could be used for hotspotting purposes.
He said his teenage son had helped to set this up, leading to the unofficial data use.
Scottish Labour frontbencher Paul O’Kane also spoke to Good Morning Scotland about Matheson.
He said the Health Secretary should “reflect on his position”, although “everyone would have a degree of sympathy when a family member is involved in something like this”.
O’Kane said it is clear the Health Secretary “did not tell the truth” when he spoke to journalists on Monday.
Asked by reporters on Thursday after making his statement if he had offered to resign, Matheson said: “No I haven’t. I don’t intend to.
“I intend to continue my work as MSP for Falkirk West and also to continue with the considerable responsibilities as Health Secretary.”
Asked if he had been watching the football with his children, he said: “No, I didn’t watch the football. I didn’t know the football was being watched.”
