What do we know about the Michael Matheson report - will the former SNP minister face suspension?

The ex-health secretary is being investigated by the standards committee

Michael Matheson could face sanctions this week over the near-£11,000 bill racked up on his parliamentary iPad.

Holyrood’s standards committee has been investigating the former health secretary after the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) found he had breached the MSPs’ code of conduct. It will announce its decision at around 10am on Thursday.

Will Michael Matheson be suspended?

Michael Matheson must resign as an MSP, opposition parties have said, as an announcement on whether he will be suspended is expected to be made on Thursday. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Mr Matheson is widely expected to be suspended from Holyrood, but MSPs on the standards committee are reportedly divided over the length of this suspension.

A ban of ten days or more would be enough to trigger a recall petition in Westminster, but the Scottish Parliament has no such mechanism. However, a suspension of this length would fuel calls for Mr Matheson to resign as an MSP.

A source told the Daily Record: “It would be outrageous if Matheson was suspended and he clung on to office. He should do the decent thing and stand down now and force a by-election.”

Does the public think Michael Matheson should be suspended?

Michael Matheson

A poll by Savanta for The Scotsman previously found 65 per cent of respondents believed the former health secretary should quit Holyrood, while just 15 per cent said he should not and 20 per cent did not know.

A total of 62 per cent of those who voted SNP in the 2019 general election believed he should resign as an MSP.

When did Michael Matheson quit as a Scottish minister?

Mr Matheson quit his Cabinet role in February following months of pressure over the huge data roaming bill racked up on his Holyrood-issued iPad during a family holiday to Morocco.

He initially used his MSP expenses and office costs to cover the bill, before resolving to pay it himself following pressure from the opposition. In an emotional statement in Holyrood last year, the-then health secretary said the costs had been incurred by his teenage sons, who had used the iPad as a wifi hotspot to watch football during the holiday in Morocco.

Mr Matheson had previously told journalists there had been no personal use of the device, even after discovering the truth.

He was found to have breached clauses of the MSP code of conduct, which say members must “abide by the policies” of the SPCB and that “no improper use should be made of any payment or allowance made to members for public purposes”.

Why did Michael Matheson not immediately resign?

Questioned by journalists in March, Mr Matheson said he would not resign as the MSP for Falkirk West. He has been a member of the Scottish Parliament since 1999.

Asked if he would resign, he said “no”, adding: “As you know, there is a standards process at the moment and I’m going to respect the confidentiality of that process. I’m looking forward to the process being completed shortly.”

The Tories had urged Humza Yousaf to remove the whip from Mr Matheson, but the former first minister insisted his ex-health secretary was a “decent person that made a mistake”.

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said: “We’ll have to wait to see what sanctions the standards committee recommends but the public want and expect Michael Matheson to receive proper and appropriate punishment for his shameful behaviour.

“He repeatedly lied to the public and parliament over his iPad bill in a desperate cover-up attempt to save his own skin. It is clear that John Swinney must suspend him from the SNP.

“Opinion polls show that most Scots support the Scottish Conservatives’ position that Michael Matheson’s position is untenable. He should finally do the decent thing and resign as an MSP.”