credit:BBCNews
Former Health Secretary Michael Matheson has said he will not resign as an MSP after being found guilty of breaching parliamentary rules.
Mr Matheson said he was respecting Parliament’s standard procedures, but replied “no” when asked if he was going to step down.
He said this while leaving the SNP group meeting at Holyrood.
The Conservatives have urged the First Minister to remove the whip from the Falkirk West MSP.
Speaking to reporters at Holyrood for the first time since the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) released its findings, he said he expected Holyrood’s standard process to be concluded “shortly”.
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Asked if he would resign, he replied ‘no’ and said, ‘As you know, there is a standard procedure at this time and I will respect the confidentiality of that process.
He did not even answer further questions from the journalists.
Mr Matheson left his cabinet role in February after months of pressure after being hit with an almost £11,000 data roaming bill on his parliamentary iPad during a family holiday in Morocco.
When details of the bill were first made public, he said the device was used only for parliamentary functions, but he later admitted that his sons had used the iPad as a data hotspot so they could watch football. Can.
He has paid the bill in full and apologized.
Face The Circumstances:
Earlier this month, the SPCB – the cross-party group of MSPs tasked with running the Scottish Parliament – concluded that Mr Matheson had breached the code of conduct for members in his handling of the bill.
It referred his case to Holyrood’s Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee to consider sanctions.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: “It is telling that, despite avoiding scrutiny for weeks, he chose the only question to answer which confirmed he would not do a decent job and resign as an MSP.
“Throughout this tragic saga, self-interest and self-preservation have been his guiding principles. Nothing changes.
Michael Matheson says he will not resign as MSP https://t.co/KSFxSh0Wt4
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) March 26, 2024
“Michael Matheson has only had access to journalists because Hamza Yousaf lacks the ability to remove the party whip from his disgraced colleague.”
The First Minister has resisted calls from opposition MSPs for Mr Matheson to remove the whip.
Appearing on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show earlier this month, Mr Yousaf said Mr Matheson was a “decent man” who had “made a mistake”, but said he should not step back from his role as an MSP. Should move away. Should go away.
“There are MSPs who have made mistakes and they have had to suffer the consequences of those mistakes,” he said at the event.
“I haven’t heard Michael say anything except that he will accept what those outcomes will be, and I’m sure whatever decision the parliamentary committee makes and deliberates on, he will accept that.”
