SCOTTISH Government devices were among those used on a public sector server to access the Ticketmaster website almost 10,000 times on the day Oasis tickets went on sale, it has been revealed.
Fans within the Scottish Government logged onto the site via their official laptops and mobiles for the Scottish dates of the Manchester band’s reunion tour next summer.
The Courier reported that public sector servers registered a total of 9078 hits to the pages where tickets for the three Murrayfield dates next August could be purchased on August 31.
The August 8 date was the most popular among government staff, with 3263 visits. A total of 2302 visits were recorded for August 9 and 2499 were recorded for August 12.
It is not known how many individual civil servants or politicians logged onto the Ticketmaster sites in an attempt to secure tickets, as some of the hits may have been repeat visits.
Health Secretary Neil Gray (below) admitted he had joined the queue for the tickets while chairing a panel about how Scotland could “lead the world” on brain health research during the SNP’s annual conference.
Gray previously dismissed the claim he was attempting to purchase tickets as “total nonsense”, before conceding that he had been waiting in the queue but was “fully focused” on the meeting.
A majority of government officials have access to an official laptop and a mobile phone due to increased levels of home working.
Edinburgh tickets sold for up to £355, after the original £135 price tag was inflated due to controversial “dynamic” pricing.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “This relates to a computer network that can be accessed by people employed by nearly 50 different public sector organisations, not just the Scottish Government.
“The number of Scottish Government users was 180 out of 22,500 system users.
“Scottish Government staff can use devices for personal use if this is within their own time, for example during the weekend or a lunchbreak. This is subject to restrictions on certain activities such as running a personal website or attempting to access inappropriate material online.”
