Michael Matheson has been given an extension of ten days to respond to a Holyrood report into his £11,000 iPad bill.

The former health secretary resigned from his government role earlier this month after sustained pressure over the huge data roaming charge.

As The Herald reported earlier today Mr Matheson asked parliamentary authorities for more time to respond to the critical report. It is not clear how long an extension Mr Matheson sought or if he stipulated a particular timescale.

In an update this afternoon the Scottish Parliament said a ten day extension had been given.

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A spokesman said: "The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) sent Mr Matheson its draft report on the afternoon of Thursday 8 February, giving him 14 days in which to make representations.

"The SPCB agreed to an extension of 10 days beyond its original deadline."

A minute published of a meeting of the SPCB revealed that Mr Matheson had requested the extension on February 14.

It stated: "On Thursday 8 February the SPCB issued Michael Matheson MSP with a copy of a draft report of its investigation and he was invited to provide any further representations he wished to make on the draft within 14 days.

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"On 14 February Mr Matheson requested an extension of the deadline."

It added: "The SPCB noted its responsibility to ensure that the member was afforded a fair process, including the opportunity to obtain advice if necessary and to ensure that the report was complete and accurate. 

"The SPCB also noted the public interest in discharging its functions under the Code of Conduct promptly. The SPCB agreed an extension of 10 days."

A Scottish Parliament spokesperson said: “For reasons of fairness to all, and confidentiality of process, we will not comment while the parliamentary investigation is ongoing. 

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“The SPCB remains committed to openness and transparency and will release all material it can, when it can, in line with its legal obligations.” 

Scottish Conservative Chairman Craig Hoy MSP accused Mr Matheson of trying to stall developments.

He said: “The disgraced Michael Matheson is now shamefully trying to stall for time.

“The public who were rightly outraged by his repeated lies will be asking serious questions as to what more he needs to think over.

“We know the former health secretary has some brass neck given how long he took to eventually resign, but asking for this extension takes some special nerve.

“Michael Matheson should stop trying to hope this goes away, and accept the report’s findings as quickly as possible, as well as any possible punishment that will be coming his way.”

Mr Matheson was given a copy of the initial findings two weeks ago, with the report including an allegation that he misled the presiding officer, on February 8 and told he had two weeks to respond.

His allies have said that he requires an extension to properly address the conclusions of the report.

“He needs more time to go through it,” a source close to Mr Matheson told The Times.

Mr Matheson has not been seen in Holyrood today.

After the huge bill was disclosed on November 8, Mr Matheson initially claimed it was for “parliamentary business” but after a public outcry he was forced to admit it had been run up by his teenage sons watching football matches online during a family holiday to Morocco.

Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, said Mr Matheson’s request, which was first reported by The Scotsman, appeared to be him “shamefully trying to string out the publication of this report for as long as possible, and people will rightly question why”.

He added: “This investigation has dragged on for a ridiculous amount of time and given this centred on Michael Matheson’s phone and his own actions it’s difficult to understand what would be in the report that he needs so much more time to consider.

“He eventually resigned in disgrace a fortnight ago — months too late — having lied to parliament and the public. If he had a shred of dignity left, he would accept the findings of this report and any consequences that flow from it rather than stalling for time.”

Under parliamentary rules, Mr Matheson will receive £12,712 because he is ­entitled to 25% of his £50,849 ministerial salary. This is £1,777 more than he eventually paid back for his iPad data bill.

A Scottish parliament spokesman said: “For reasons of fairness to all, and confidentiality of process, we will not comment while the parliamentary investigation is ongoing. The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body remains committed to openness and transparency and will release all material it can, when it can, in line with its legal obligations.”

A spokesman for Mr Matheson said: “Questions on process are a matter for parliament.”

A spokesman for the First Minister said today that Mr Yousaf had not seen the SPCB report into Mr Matheson's iPad bill or knew why he had asked for an extension.

When the bill first came to light in November, the former health secretary claimed the iPad was used to conduct constituency work, and the data charges incurred were due to a failure to replace an old sim card.

The Scottish Parliament later released a breakdown of Mr Matheson's data usage on the trip, which showed the health secretary was billed more than £7,000 of fees in one day.

Mr Yousaf backed his minister "100%" claiming the bill was a "legitimate parliamentary expense", but members of the Scottish Conservative party had threated to table a vote of no confidence vote against him.

But in February 2024, ahead of the publication of an investigation into the incident by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, Mr Matheson said he was standing down.

He said he did not want the row over the bill to become a distraction.