MICHAEL Matheson is set to pay back the full £11,000 roaming charges bill he racked up on a parliamentary iPad while on a week-long holiday in Morocco.
He had said the huge charge incurred around Christmas last year was caused by an "outdated sim card".
The Scottish Parliament had agreed to pay the bulk of the bill with Matheson offering to pay £3000. First Minister Humza Yousaf insisted he should not have to pay it back.
But the Health Secretary said he has since reflected "long and hard" on the incident and decided he should pay up.
In a statement on Friday he said: "I have contacted the Scottish Parliament authorities this afternoon to make arrangements to reimburse the full cost of the £10,935.74 incurred in roaming charges on my parliament iPad.
"As well as being a constituency MSP, I have an important role as Health Secretary and the coming months will be challenging for our health service. I am determined to be fully focused on taking forward these responsibilities, and I assure the people of Falkirk West and across Scotland that their concerns are my priorities."
A Scottish Parliament spokesperson said: "As previously stated, Mr Matheson has provided written assurance that the costs were in connection with parliamentary business.
"Mr Matheson notified the Parliament this afternoon that he would, on reflection, meet the cost of his data charges.
"The money will be returned to the Parliament's budget."
