Press: Do Scottish Government ministers always tell the truth?

First Minister's Spokesperson: I think you’re referring to what the DFM said on the radio this morning

Press: And the FM in FMQs didn’t answer either.

Minister for Health and Social Care Michael Matheson arrives ahead of First Minster's Questions at the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood, Edinburgh.

First Minister's Spokesperson: Well indeed. The point the DFM was making on the radio this morning was simply that ministers quite rightly always do aim to tell the truth, and if it turns out later that they need to correct the record it is incumbent on them to do that.

“I’ll just put this slightly back on you guys and say, I’m not casting any individual aspersions here, but I’m sure when a newspaper prints something that turns out not to be correct they would later put out a correction saying we’ve got more information then.

Press: So they always try to but they don’t always actually do it?

First Minister's Spokesperson: It’s a point of fact, that if something is said that turns out if the record needs to be corrected the record is later corrected.

Press: Is it? Don’t you reverse engineer statistics to make sure you don’t have to correct the record?

First Minister's Spokesperson: Well I think that’s a point of debate rather than…

Press: It’s a bold line from you on today of all days, surely.

First Minister's Spokesperson: If the DFM had said on the radio this morning, if she’d said that everyone always [inaudible] and no-one has to correct the record, you would just say that how come people have had to correct the record.

Press: Nobody would have believed her.

Press: Has Michael Matheson always told the truth while he’s been in office?

First Minister's Spokesperson: He is under the same obligation as every other minister. I can see what you’re referring to, but on that he’s set his position out and he’s set out his reasons.

Press: Did he tell the truth?

First Minister's Spokesperson: He has set out the reasons…

Press: That’s not the question I’m asking, did he tell the truth?

First Minister's Spokesperson: He has set out the reasons for the answers that he gave, he set out a full explanation to parliament. This is now subject to an independent procedure in parliament so I’m kind of limited in what I can say right now.

Press: To use your previous example of what we would do, would you have posted a correction for what Michael Matheson has said?

First Minister's Spokesperson: Well Michael Matheson gave a statement to parliament.

Press: If he’d have said his first statement in parliament, would his statement have been a correction of the record?

First Minister's Spokesperson: I’m in a slightly complicated situation here because obviously that was a personal statement not a government statement that he was making. But I’m simply saying…

Press: You’re just aiming to tell us the truth though.

First Minister's Spokesperson: I’m simply reflecting what Michael said. He made a statement to parliament.

Press: But was it true?

First Minister's Spokesperson: He gave a statement to parliament, he gave a full account of all the circumstances surrounding…

Press: Yes, but was what he said on Thursday true?

First Minister's Spokesperson: Sorry, you mean…?

Press: His personal statement, was it true?

First Minister's Spokesperson: That was a personal statement, it’s not for me to fact check it? But we don’t understand it not to be true.

Press: So is it true?

First Minister's Spokesperson: Our understanding is it’s true, yes.

Press: So was his statement the week before true?

First Minister's Spokesperson: These are personal statements, these are matters for Michael Matheson.

Press: He’s a government minister, if government ministers aim to tell their truth as they undertake their jobs, you should be able to say when he was undertaking his role as a government minister, was he telling the truth?

First Minister's Spokesperson: Michael has set out his position in a personal statement, he’s set out the full circumstances. This matter has now been referred…the corporate body is now taking it forward and as Michael himself said coming out of the Chamber…it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to be giving a government commentary.

Press: Why are the government defending the indefensible?

First Minister's Spokesperson: Michael’s set out his position. The FM has set out his response to that position and he has made clear that obviously Michael made an honest mistake, he sought to rectify that, and it’s now being looked at by the SPCB.

Press: So you can’t afford to lose Michael Matheson?

First Minister's Spokesperson: That’s not what the equation is. The equation is Michael has set out his full position and the FM’s view is he made an honest mistake and it’s not being looked at?

Press: What was the mistake?

First Minister's Spokesperson: I’m not going to sit and repeat…

Press: But they keep saying he made a mistake, what was it?

First Minister's Spokesperson: The mistakes were made in the handling of all of this. It’s goes right back to how he handled it at the time?

Press: How does the FM believe it was an honest mistake when Michael Matheson learned two weeks ago today that his teenage sons had used the iPad but days after that denied that there had been any personal use and blamed it on the SIM card?

First Minister's Spokesperson: I’m not going to get into a running commentary to try and dissect what Michael said but I’m simply going to point out that he made a statement.

Press: But why does the FM believe that’s an honest mistake?

First Minister's Spokesperson: At the moment this information, as the FM just said in the chamber you can take what he said rather than me, the moment this information came to light, Michael and his family said we would repay the money in full the next day.

Press: But they didn’t say when asked about that several days later by the media that there’d been any personal use when he knew at that point that there had been?

First Minister's Spokesperson: Michael gave a full account to parliament the following week of the reasons at all the points why he gave the answers he did.

Press: He did give a full account to parliament, but is it acceptable to not set out the correct position when asked about the matter by the media?

First Minister's Spokesperson: Well he gave a full account to parliament, as outlined, and all I can do is point you back to that. He gave the explanation as to why he gave the answers he gave at different times.

Press: Would you expect us to put forward the points of views of ministers fairly and accurately?

First Minister's Spokesperson: I would expect people to be quoted in full and accurately, yes, in what they’ve said.

Press: So why is it okay for a minister to lie to us?

First Minister's Spokesperson: These matters are now being looked at by the SPCB, there’s going to be a full investigation.

Press: It’s a point of principle.

First Minister's Spokesperson: I’ve said what I’m going to say.

Humza Yousaf's spokesperson repeatedly refuses to say whether Michael Matheson told the truth - full transcript

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