Why Scottish minister Michael Matheson needs to fully explain his £11,000 iPad roaming bill - what questions remain unanswered

The health secretary has been reluctant to answer questions about the extraordinary cost

In newspaper jargon, it was a bit of a marmalade dropper. The revelation that Michael Matheson managed to rack up nearly £11,000 in data roaming charges on his parliamentary iPad while on holiday in Morocco has certainly raised a few eyebrows in Holyrood, to put it mildly.

The SNP health secretary incurred a fee of £10,935.74 during the week-long visit around Christmas last year. He says he will contribute £3,000 towards the bill from his expenses budget and insists the data use was for parliamentary business.

Mr Matheson spoke to journalists at Holyrood briefly after First Minister’s Questions on Thursday. He said the extraordinary bill was “caused by an outdated Sim card in an iPad that I had for constituency purposes”, adding: “I wasn’t aware that it had to be replaced and the cost built up as a result of that.”

Michael Matheson. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

A spokesman for the Scottish Parliament said the data charges were investigated by a senior member of its IT office in January. “This included a review of the data volume consumed, the daily pricing charges and the company’s application of tariffs,” the spokesman said.

The probe confirmed Mr Matheson “had not updated his iPad’s sim card to the new provider as required, or notified the IT office before travelling, so that the appropriate roaming package could be applied”. However, officials accepted the minister’s assurances that all costs incurred were for parliamentary purposes.

But what exactly was Mr Matheson doing to rack up such costs while on holiday? And why should the Parliament – and ultimately the taxpayer – stump up the cost? Should he not foot the bill himself?

These are legitimate questions. But Mr Matheson, who is paid a yearly salary of £118,511, has been reluctant to engage with them.

He answered only one question from journalists when he was doorstepped in Holyrood on Thursday. When reporters tried again later in the day, he simply said: "Look, I've already made a statement, all right, OK?”

Unfortunately for Mr Matheson, this is the sort of story journalists find irresistible. Whether he likes it or not, the questions won’t go away, and the public deserve some answers. Expect this to run and run.