Swinney, Sinned Against and SNP Sinners

Excellent Sunday Times article by Gillian Bowditch which lays bare the cynical behaviour of Morocco Mike Matheson and the SNP.

Over a year ago Humza Yousaf declared the matter closed that there was 'nothing to see' and until yesterday 'Honest John' Swinney was trying to portray Matheson as sinned against rather than a sinner! 

"Extraordinarily, the indefensible that Swinney was determined to defend was the former health secretary, Michael Matheson, whose lies about an £11,000 streaming bill for his iPad so damaged Humza Yousaf’s time in office.

"To recap: Matheson, married with three children, racked up streaming charges of £10,935.74 on his official iPad in a single week on holiday in Morocco in December 2022. The fees were accrued because the device contained an old Sim card and Matheson had ignored an email asking him to update it. When the Holyrood authorities questioned the bill, Matheson insisted it was run up on legitimate parliamentary business. They agreed that the taxpayer would foot the bill.

"This was a lie. The charges were accrued by streaming Celtic football matches. Asked by journalists if there had been any personal use of the iPad or if anyone else had used it, Matheson said “no”. This was also a lie. With a vote of confidence hanging over him, Matheson finally admitted his teenage sons had been streaming football matches and he had tried to protect them. His refusal to resign as health minister and Yousaf’s refusal to sack him led to a public outcry.

"Matheson finally stood down in February, before the publication of an investigation by the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body that found he had breached the MSP code of conduct twice."



  




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