MSPs vote to suspend Scotland’s former health secretary Michael Matheson over £11,000 iPad bill
MSPs have voted to suspend Scotland’s former health secretary from Holyrood for 27 sitting days and to strip him of his salary for 54 days over his £11,000 iPad data roaming bill.
A majority of MSPs backed the proposed sanction against Michael Matheson recommended by the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee in a vote at Holyrood on Wednesday.
It comes after the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) concluded in March that he had breached the MSP code of conduct.
The suspension will take effect from Thursday and is the harshest punishment ever handed to an MSP.
A ban of 10 days or more would be enough to trigger a recall petition in Westminster, however the Scottish parliament has no such mechanism.
The Falkirk West MSP had previously described the sanction as “excessive” and “unfair”, while First Minister John Swinney claimed the process had been “prejudiced” due to critical comments made by one of the committee members.
A total of 64 MSPs voted to back the recommendations, with SNP members abstaining.
The SNP were however successful in amending the motion to include complaints about the process which thereby brought “the parliament into disrepute”. It also included a call for an “independent review” of the complaints process at Holyrood.
In a statement issued afterwards, Mr Matheson said: “I apologise and regret that this situation occurred. I acknowledge and accept the decision of parliament.
“I also note that parliament has called for the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to carry out an independent review of the parliament’s complaints process to restore integrity and confidence in the parliament and its procedures, which I hope will be progressed.
“I look forward to continuing to represent the people of Falkirk West, as I have done for many years.”
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What did Michael Matheson do?
Mr Matheson took the parliamentary iPad with him on a week-long visit to Morocco with his family around Christmas in 2022.
Mr Matheson was the net zero, energy and transport secretary in Nicola Sturgeon’s government at the time of the incident.
He was then appointed cabinet secretary for NHS recovery, health and social care when Humza Yousaf became first minister in March last year.
It was during his time as health secretary – with an annual salary of £118,511 – that the story became headline news.
His roaming charges for the iPad – not phone calls – totalled nearly £11,000 and were initially paid for by taxpayers after Mr Matheson claimed he racked up the eye-watering invoice undertaking constituency work during the trip.
It was found that Mr Matheson had failed to replace an outdated SIM card, which led to the hefty bill. Officials at Holyrood challenged the invoice 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.
Following a public outcry, Mr Matheson agreed to pay the money back to the Scottish parliament. However, questions remained over the data use – with the figures appearing higher on days football games were taking place.
It then later emerged his teenage sons had used the iPad as a hotspot to watch football while on the family vacation.
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Minister’s sons racked up £11k iPad bill
Mr Matheson told Holyrood he was unaware his sons had used the iPad as a hotspot when he initially submitted the bill. He claimed he was told the truth by his wife after the story became national news.
Following his wife’s admission, Mr Matheson initially failed to publicly mention his sons’ involvement. Instead, he continued to insist the iPad was only used for parliamentary work and blamed an outdated SIM card for the excessive bill.
When questioned by journalists days after he knew the truth, he continued to deny the iPad was used for personal use until he made a statement to Holyrood.
The SPCB launched an investigation in November, with Mr Matheson tendering his resignation as health secretary ahead of officially receiving the findings of the review.
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‘He made a mistake’
Before the proposed sanction was recommended, Scottish Tory MSP and standards committee member Annie Wells described Mr Matheson’s defence as “riddled with lies, cover-ups and the need for us all to suspend our disbelief”.
First minister Mr Swinney previously said he would not back the proposed ban, claiming the committee had been “prejudiced” against his “friend and colleague”.
Following the vote, he once again supported Mr Matheson, saying: “He made a mistake and has been given a punishment by parliament which I accept unreservedly.
“Michael should accept that punishment and continue to serve the people that sent him here.”
Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said Mr Swinney had tried to “derail and undermine due process” with his criticism of Ms Wells’ behaviour.
Mr Ross added: “The actions of the first minister towards my colleague Annie Wells would make Donald Trump blush.
“It is disgusting and disgraceful behaviour that demeans the office of first minister, because he has targeted members of an independent committee in this parliament and is attempting to undermine due process with his bully boy tactics.”
UK
Mohamed al Fayed: Former royal security head says he warned Royal Family before Diana went on holiday with businessman
The former head of royal protection says he warned the Royal Family about Mohamed al Fayed’s reputation before Princess Diana took her sons on holiday with him.
The former Harrods owner, who died last year at the age of 94, was described as a “monster” earlier this week by lawyers representing 37 alleged sexual abuse victims.
The women say he raped and sexually assaulted them while they worked at the luxury department store, prowling the shop floor and “cherry-picking” women to be brought to his executive suite.
Now, Mr Davies says people were aware of the Egyptian businessman’s reputation as far back as the 1990s, and that he raised concerns about him to the Royal Family.
Princess Diana on the quay of the residence of Mohamed al Fayed in Saint Tropez on 20 July 1997. File pic: AP
“This was a man who I would be concerned [about] if a relative of mine was going on holiday with him, let alone the future king and his brother and their mother, Princess Diana,” Dai Davies told Sky News.
Mohamed al Fayed during a match at Craven Cottage stadium in 2013: File pic: PA
In July 1997, a month before she died, Princess Diana went on holiday with Fayed and his wife to their residence in St Tropez.
She took the two young princes with her – a holiday Prince Harry described as “heaven” in his 2023 memoir Spare.
“I was horrified because I was aware of some of the allegations even then that were going around,” said Mr Davies.
“I was aware that he had tried very hard to ingratiate himself with the Royal Family and obviously knowing, as I did, the reputation he was alleged [to have] then, I was concerned, and I took the opportunity to inform the Royal Family.”
Princess Diana, Prince William (right) and Prince Harry (left) in Saint Tropez on 14 July 1997. File pic: AP
Mr Davies says he was told: “Her Majesty is aware.”
“The rest is history,” he said.
Buckingham Palace told Sky News it had no comment on the allegations.
Fulham ‘deeply disturbed’ by allegations
Fulham FC, a football club that was owned by Fayed between 1997 and 2013, has said it is “deeply troubled” by the dozens of “disturbing” sexual abuse allegations against the businessman.
The Premier League club also said it is “in the process of establishing whether anyone at the club is or has been affected” by this alleged behaviour.
Mohamed al Fayed waves a Fulham scarf in front of supporters in 2012. Pic: Reuters
However, Gaute Haugenes, who managed the club’s women’s team between 2001 and 2003, told the BBC extra precautions were taken to protect female players from Fayed.
“We were aware he liked young, blonde girls. So we just made sure that situations couldn’t occur. We protected the players.”
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‘The door was locked behind me’
A former Harrods employee told Sky News she was summoned to Fayed’s apartment when she began working for the department store at 19 years old.
She was told the meeting was a “job review” before “the door was locked behind me”.
“I saw his bedroom door partially open – there were sex toys on view,” she said.
“I felt petrified. I perched myself at the very end of the sofa and then… my boss, the person I worked for, pushed himself onto me.”
Read more: ‘One of the worst cases of corporate sexual exploitation’
Harrods said in a statement on Thursday it was “utterly appalled” by the allegations of abuse and apologised to Fayed’s alleged victims.
The department store has also set up a page on its website inviting former employees to come forward if they have allegations.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The legal team involved in a civil claim against Harrods for allegedly failing to provide a safe system of work for its employees said they aimed to seek justice for the victims of a “vast web of abuse”.
Lily Allen says she had her children “for all the wrong reasons,” at a “high pressure” point in her career when she felt “overwhelmed”.
The singer and actress had her two daughters, Marnie, 12 and Ethel, 11, with her ex-husband Sam Cooper when she was in her mid-20s.
By the time she became a mum, she’d already had hit singles including Smile and The Fear, released two studio albums and received a Brit Award for best British female solo artist.
Speaking about motherhood on the BBC podcast Miss Me?, which Allen hosts with her long-time friend Miquita Oliver, she said: “I think I had children for all the wrong reasons, really.
“Because I was yearning for unconditional love, which I haven’t felt in my life since I was a child.”
The now 39-year-old star added: “And also, my career was at such high speed, high pressure, and I felt like very overwhelmed by what was happening. I just didn’t get much respite you know?
“And I felt like the only way to stop people hassling me was to say, ‘It’s not about me, actually this is about this other person that’s inside me’.
When asked by Oliver if it worked, Allen says: “Yeah, they did leave me alone. I don’t think I really understood what was happening, what I got myself into.”
The daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen, she went on to discuss her own childhood.
“My mum, bless her, had children really early as well, and she really struggled. But she doesn’t really talk about the struggle. And so… She inadvertently gaslit me into thinking it was, you know, easy.
“You just sort of throw the kid over your shoulder and you get on with it.
“Her job was very static, and in one place and went to an office and mine wasn’t like that at all. It wasn’t easy. It just wasn’t easy.”
Allen is married to Stranger Things star David Harbour
The ‘nasty scars’ caused by absent parents
Allen previously told the Radio Times podcast that while she loves her children, having them “ruined her career”.
She said her decision to prioritise them over her pop career was a decision she made so as not to inflict the “nasty scars” of being an “absent” parent onto them.
She also said the myth of having it all “really annoyed” as it simply was not true.
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Allen, whose younger brother is Game Of Thrones actor Alfie Allen, married Stranger Things star David Harbour in 2020.
Away from her music career, Allen has branched out into acting over the last few years, starring in two plays in London’s West End, and winning a role in Sky drama Dreamland last year.
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