A Scottish government minister racked up nearly £11,000 in data roaming fees on his parliament iPad while on a family holiday in Morocco.
Michael Matheson, who is now Scotland’s health secretary, was said to have been using the device for work but had not switched over from the parliament’s old mobile contract to a new one.
The Scottish parliament confirmed that Mr Matheson’s roaming charges – for the iPad and not phone calls – totalled £10,935.74.
Officials at Holyrood challenged the bill over the scale of the data fees and the late warning over the rising cost but previous provider EE declined to waive it.
Mr Matheson agreed to pay £3,000 towards the cost from his expenses budget. As the data use was reportedly for parliamentary business, the Scottish parliament agreed to pay the rest.
Both Scottish Labour and the Scottish Conservatives are calling for Mr Matheson to foot the “eye-watering” bill instead of taxpayers, with the Tories branding the cost “absolutely scandalous”.
A Scottish parliament spokesperson said: “Substantial roaming charges were incurred by Mr Matheson on his parliamentary iPad while in Morocco at the start of this year.
“As the member was still using the parliament’s previous mobile provider, and hadn’t yet switched to our present contract, he incurred significant data fees over and above its ‘rest of the world’ tariff rate.
“The parliament challenged the company over the scale of the data fees – which totalled £10,935.74 – and over the late warning to the rising cost, but the company declined to meet or waive any of the charges.
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“On the basis that the member has assured the parliament that these costs were incurred in relation to parliamentary business and not for personal or government use, we agreed that Mr Matheson would contribute £3,000 from his office cost provision and the remainder would be paid centrally by the parliament.”
Mr Matheson took the iPad with him on a week-long visit to Morocco with his family around Christmas last year.
The Falkirk West MSP was the net zero, energy and transport secretary in Nicola Sturgeon’s government at the time.
He has since been appointed health secretary under First Minister Humza Yousaf.
Roaming charges are incurred abroad when a mobile device connects outside of its home network rather than to wi-fi.
Opposition parties urge ‘cavalier’ SNP MSP to repay bill himself
Craig Hoy, chairman of the Scottish Conservatives, said: “It’s absolutely scandalous that taxpayers are picking up an enormous tab for Michael Matheson’s mistake.
“Even if we are to believe that he racked up this bill doing parliamentary and constituency work on a festive holiday in Morocco, the onus was on him to connect to the wi-fi where he was staying or check with the network provider to avoid brutal roaming charges.
“At a time when Scottish families are hard-pressed, this is a scandal and demonstrates the SNP’s totally cavalier attitude to public money.
“The £120,000-a-year SNP health secretary should do the decent thing and repay this money out of his own pocket.”
Jackie Baillie, deputy leader of Scottish Labour, described the situation as “simply mind-boggling”.
She added: “The SNP are on a different planet when it comes to wasting taxpayers’ cash.
“The Scottish public should not have to pick up this eye-watering bill for Michael Matheson.”
Ozzy Osbourne has taken his final tour of Birmingham – with his family experiencing the love of thousands of fans who turned out to see the heavy metal star come home.
“We love you, Ozzy!” came the shouts from the crowd as his cortege stopped at Black Sabbath Bridge in the city, a site that has become a shrine to the performer since his death at 76 last week.
His family and loved ones, including his wife Sharon Osbourne and their children Jack, Kelly and Aimee, spent several minutes taking in all the flowers, messages and other tributes left in an outpouring of love from fans.
Image: Jack, Sharon and Kelly Osbourne laid flowers. Pic: PA
Sharon was in tears as she took it all in. Supported by her children, she gave a peace sign to the crowd before returning to the procession vehicles.
Each family member carried a pink rose, wrapped in black paper, tied with a purple ribbon – the traditional Black Sabbath colours. The flowers bearing his name in the hearse were also purple.
Before reaching the city centre, the cortege had travelled past Ozzy’s childhood home in Aston. Just a few weeks ago, he was on stage at Villa Park performing his final gig alongside many of the musicians his music had inspired, from Metallica to Guns N’ Roses to Yungblud.
Image: Tributes to Ozzy can be seen all over Birmingham. Pic: Reuters
On a hugely emotional day, his presence could be felt throughout the city, with the star’s music playing in pubs and posters paying tribute: “Birmingham will always love you.”
For fans, this was a chance to say not just goodbye, but also thank you to a star who never forgot where he came from. His remarkable achievements from humble beginnings and continued love for his hometown, even when he lived thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, meant that for many, the loss feels incredibly personal.
Image: The Black Sabbath Bridge has become a shrine in recent days. Pic: Reuters
‘The Prince of Laughter – not Darkness’
Graham Wright, a roadie who worked with Black Sabbath in the 1970s and beyond, up to the Back To The Beginning reunion gig at Villa Park, told Sky News he would remember Ozzy not by his traditional nickname, the Prince of Darkness – but as the Prince of Laughter instead.
“It was a shock he left us so soon after [the show],” he said. “The show was tough for him but he was determined to say goodbye to his fans, that was the main thing. It was important for all four of [Black Sabbath] to get back together and do a farewell.
“The tears will be flowing today to see the Ozz man – the Prince of Laughter, not Darkness. He really was. We’ll all miss him.”
Image: Pic: Reuters
‘My mum used to say he was a lovely boy’
Chris Mason, general manager of The Brasshouse pub, which is next to Black Sabbath Bridge, said music by the band and Ozzy’s solo material had been played pretty much “on loop” since his death.
“I’m a metal fan and Ozzy being the godfather of the scene – if not for Ozzy and Black Sabbath, we wouldn’t have heavy metal,” he said. “This is what Birmingham is about, bringing people together, and Ozzy and Black Sabbath did that.
“He was Mr Birmingham and his family have brought him back.”
Mohabbat Ali, who used to live on the same street as Ozzy’s childhood home, said the property had become one of the focal points for tributes in the city.
Describing what it was like living near him, he said: “He played guitars, very loud at night sometimes, but my mum used to say he was a lovely boy.”
From an era of preening rock gods, Ozzy was the real deal
The sea of black was always a given – but this wasn’t about respecting funeral traditions. Ozzy himself had previously said he wanted his send-off, when it came, to be a celebration and not a “mope-fest”.
This was his final tour in the city that meant so much to him.
For fans, he meant so much to them.
For his family, the emotion was raw.
Sharon, his soulmate, has spent her life and career organising his shows, and it was clear how hard this day was for her.
After they left, fans flooded the streets to lay flowers.
Not since David Bowie has an artist’s death prompted such an outpouring of emotion. From an era of preening rock gods, Ozzy was the real deal – one of the most notorious figures in rock, but a man who remained as Brummie as can be.
‘A true legend who never forgot his roots’
Birmingham’s lord mayor, Councillor Zafar Iqbal, also attended the procession and spoke of the city’s pride in Ozzy.
“What a great honour for us to have him here one last time,” he said. “The love for Ozzy – well, you can feel it in the air.”
The star put both Aston and Birmingham on the map, he said, and always took the time to get to know people.
Mr Iqbal said Ozzy sent him a letter after reading on the mayor’s website biography how he had struggled with dyslexia at school – something the star identified with.
“I’ve got the letter in a frame and it’s in my office… he was just a natural human being, down to earth. You wouldn’t have known he was a rock star – but he was a true legend, who never forgot his roots.”
The population of England and Wales has grown by more than 700,000 in the year to June 2024 – the second-largest increase in over 75 years.
The change was largely fuelled by international migration, with natural change – the difference between births and deaths – accounting for only a small proportion.
According to the Office for National Statistics, there were an estimated 61.8 million people in England and Wales in mid-2024, up from 61.1 million the year before.
It is the second-largest numerical jump since at least 1949, when comparable data began.
And it is behind only the rise of 821,210 that took place in the preceding 12 months from mid-2022 to mid-2023.
Nigel Henretty of the ONS said the population of the two countries has increased each year since mid-1982, but said the rate of population increases has been higher in recent years.
“Net international migration continues to be the main driver of this growth, continuing the long-term trend seen since the turn of the century,” he said.
Net international migration – the difference between people moving to the country and leaving – accounted for 690,147 of the estimated population increase of 706,881 people, or 98% of the total.
There were slightly more births than deaths in the most recent year, which added 29,982 to the population.
There was also a net decrease in internal migration – the number of people moving from England and Wales to elsewhere in the UK.