MICHAEL Matheson has hit out at press coverage of the events leading up to his resignation as health secretary.
The former cabinet secretary said at one stage he decided he wanted to “avoid the press knowing about what my son had done”.
Matheson resigned as health secretary in February last year after an investigation into an £11,000 roaming bill he racked up on his iPad while on holiday in Morocco.
Matheson had initially agreed to claim £3000 of the bill as part of his expenses allowance, while his office provision paid the rest – meaning the public purse covered the bill in full.
However, he later agreed to cover the cost himself, and admitted the fees were the result of his teenage sons using his parliamentary iPad as a hotspot to watch football.
Matheson previously told journalists there had been no personal use of the iPad during the trip, prompting accusations he had been untruthful as he said in his statement in Holyrood that he did not initially provide the reasons for the bill in order to protect his family.
Speaking to the Institute for Government think tank, Matheson expressed his frustration with the press coverage around the saga which he described as "completely unforgiving".
Asked whether there were lessons other ministers could learn from the events that led to his resignation, Matheson said: "If I look back, the lesson I would say is recognising how unforgiving the political space is that you’re operating in.
"It was completely unforgiving, despite the fact that when you offer it up, then they say you’re using it as a cover.
"Actually, no, I'm not, but I'm telling you that's what's happened.
"So I think what I would say to ministers is that it is quite unforgiving at times when something like that happens, despite what your background is and how long you've been in government and how you've always tried to avoid getting the government into any difficult positions.
"A lot of people can also see through some of the things that are happening, so I was struck by the number of people who reached out to me and offered me support and encouragement and recognised what was going on."
Matheson also said his opponents had sought to take “political advantage” of the situation.
“It became a massive issue because folk saw a political advantage they could get from it," he said.
“It just got completely blown out of all proportion, in my view.”
He said the scrutiny had a “significant impact” on his family, including his teenage sons, adding: “It’s in the public record that our house got broken into.”
Matheson was formally suspended from Parliament for 27 days last year after Holyrood’s Standards Committee chose to sanction him.
First Minister John Swinney was asked about Matheson’s comments as he spoke to journalists on Thursday.
He said: “The Parliament’s worked its way through all of these issues and it’s come to its conclusions and those conclusions stand.
“We just have to consider that as the conclusion that Parliament has arrived at.”
