Conclusions stand on Matheson row, says Swinney after ex-minister’s comments

John Swinney has said Parliament’s “conclusions stand” after comments from Michael Matheson emerged in which the former health secretary said the row over his iPad roaming charges had been “blown out of proportion”.

Mr Matheson, who resigned in February last year, said his opponents had sought to take “political advantage” of the situation.

The remarks were made in October during a talk at the Institute for Government (IFG) think tank, during its devolved “ministers reflect” event.

After initially saying the device was used for official work, he later admitted his sons had used it as a data hotspot to watch football during a holiday in Morocco.

Mr Matheson was formally suspended from Parliament for 27 days last year after Holyrood’s Standards Committee chose to sanction him.

Discussing the end of his ministerial career, he told an IFG interviewer that the political space is “unforgiving”.

He said: “When you’re a minister and you’re a senior minister, you’re going to get chased down and you quite literally get chased down.

“What you shouldn’t underestimate is the impact that these things can have on your family as well.”

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.”

John Swinney said Parliament’s conclusions stand (Jane Barlow/PA) PA Media

Mr Matheson added: “It became a massive issue because folk saw a political advantage they could get from it.

“It just got completely blown out of all proportion, in my view.”

First Minister John Swinney was asked about Mr 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.”

However the Scottish Conservatives took issue with Mr Matheson’s remark that the matter had been “blown out of proportion”.

Deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: “Taxpayers will be outraged that Michael Matheson is trying to downplay the scandal that ultimately forced him to resign in disgrace.

“The public were rightly furious that the then SNP health secretary thought it acceptable to ask them to foot the bill for his mobile phone expenses.

“He then repeatedly lied to them and Parliament and refused to say sorry for what he had done.”

The ex-health secretary also spoke of the pressures the scrutiny put on his family.

The Falkirk West MSP resigned as health secretary after questions were raised about an £11,000 data roaming bill on his parliamentary iPad.