Scottish Parliament probe into Michael Matheson may not publish findings until February

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body is investigating the health secretary’s £11,000 iPad bill

The Holyrood investigation into Michael Matheson’s £11,000 iPad bill may not publish its findings until February, it has emerged.

Minutes of a meeting of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) said its “provisional findings” would be provided to the health secretary in January.

However, he will then be given up to two weeks to respond before a final report is published.

Michael Matheson

The probe was launched after Mr Matheson racked up a huge data roaming bill on his Holyrood-issued iPad while on a family holiday to Morocco last Christmas.

The cost was initially paid by the Scottish Parliament, but Mr Matheson agreed to reimburse it after finding out his teenage sons had used the device to stream football.

However, he initially failed to come clean about his sons’ involvement, leading to claims he had misled journalists and the public.

In an emotional statement to MSPs last month, Mr Matheson referred himself to the SPCB, a cross-party group that oversees the running of the Scottish Parliament.

Minutes from a meeting of the SPCB said it “was keen to progress its investigation expeditiously”.

They added: “The SPCB agreed the investigation would be conducted through written submissions, with Mr Matheson being permitted up to two weeks in which to provide his substantive statement of evidence. If thereafter any meetings became necessary, they would be conducted in private.

"The SPCB also agreed that, in line with fair and due process, the member [Mr Matheson] would also be provided with a copy of a draft statement of provisional findings, together with copies of any material relied upon in making those findings.

"The member would then have an opportunity to make further representations to be considered by the SPCB before finalising its findings and concluding the investigation. The expectation was that a period of up to two weeks would again be necessary in the investigation’s timeline for Mr Matheson to respond.

“The corporate body noted that a robust process and timeline would ensure fairness and help mitigate potential challenge to the SPCB. The initial statement of provisional findings would likely be provided to the member in January 2024, but the SPCB agreed that work should continue at pace.”

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said: “It’s disappointing that the parliament’s report into the Matheson scandal will not be made public until well into the new year – given how narrow the investigation’s remit is and the facts that are already known.

“The discredited health secretary will be given two weeks to respond to the initial findings before it’s made public, so we can only hope that the corporate body is robust in the event of any attempts by Michael Matheson to edit the report.

“Mr Matheson should have been dismissed weeks ago for his lies and cover-up. But we now face the prospect of him clinging on to his post into February at least – leaving our NHS saddled with a distracted health secretary during the winter crisis the SNP has created.”