SCOTTISH minister Neil Gray was chauffeured in a ministerial car to attend major Aberdeen cup matches at Hampden Park, it has emerged.
The Health Secretary was gifted VIP seats on three occasions to watch the Dons play Hibernian, Rangers and Celtic in the League Cup and Scottish Cup, the Sunday Post has reported.
He was attending Scotland’s national stadium as a guest of the Scottish Football Association to discuss “essential” business, according to the Scottish Government.
It comes amid ongoing public scrutiny over politicians accepting donations and gifts. Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced weeks of criticism following the election after it was revealed he had been gifted more than £100,000 in freebies since becoming Labour leader.
This included accepting almost 40 sets of free tickets to football and major concerts.
Gray, who is an Aberdeen fan, declared the football trips as official business as they occurred across his time wellbeing economy, fair work and energy secretary.
The first trip happened on November 4, 2023, where he watched Aberdeen beat Hibernian 1-0 at Hampden in the semi-finals of the League Cup. He registered the ministerial engagement as discussing the “social impact investment in sport”.
He was back at Hampden on December 17, courtesy of the SFA, where he watched Aberdeen’s final clash against Rangers, where his team lost 1-0.
Gray was appointed wellbeing economy secretary in March 2023.
He was then chosen to take over as Health Secretary in February 2024 after his predecessor Michael Matheson quit. He was forced out of his Cabinet role after an investigation into an £11,000 roaming bill he racked up on his iPad while on holiday in Morocco.
Weeks after Gray’s appointment as Health Secretary, he returned to Hampden on April 20, 2024, as Aberdeen played Celtic in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup.
Politicians are allowed to accept gifts as long as they are declared.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Ministers are invited to a range of engagements and attend select events in an official capacity, details of which we publish proactively.
“This is an essential part of government business that allows ministers to engage and build relationships with key stakeholders and to help promote Scotland as a place to visit, work and invest in.
“All travel costs are in accordance with travel and subsistence policies to ensure we deliver the best value for money possible for the Scottish public.”
Gray was not the only government minister to use a ministerial car for trips to Hampden, with rural affairs minister Mairi Gougeon travelling to Murrayfield to watch Scotland play rugby, declaring the trip as promoting aquaculture.
Community safety minister Siobhian Brown also attended Scotland’s recent football match against Finland, with the reason described as “safer communities”.
Employment minister Tom Arthur was also driven to Hampden on May 25 to watch the Scottish Cup final against Celtic and Rangers, which he registered as a ministerial visit for “sport/investment”.
Keir Starmer announced last month he would pay back around £6000 for gifts he received since entering Downing Street in July.
But gifts not paid back include £2400 tickets to Chelsea vs Arsenal and £1000 tickets for Newcastle United vs Arsenal.
A string of other Arsenal matches he attended were not paid back, including £3000 tickets gifted by the Premier League to watch Arsenal play Porto.
