Holyrood has refused to say if Michael Matheson has given his response to the critical report into his £11,000 iPad bill after the 10 day extension he was given has now passed.
Mr Matheson was given the extra time to make his submission to the provisional findings of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body on February 22.
The Herald calculated that as the extension was given in calendar days the deadline for his submission was March 3.
Asked if the former health secretary had given his response to the report, a Scottish Parliament spokesman said: "The investigation process has to be fair to all. For that reason we haven’t given a running on commentary or answered questions."
READ MORE: Michael Matheson saga set to drag on - what happens next?
It is understood Mr Matheson has the right to ask for a further extension but the spokesman would not say if he had sought one.
On February 8, Mr Matheson was given a copy of the official investigation, which reportedly included an allegation that he misled the presiding officer, and told that he had two weeks to respond.
On February 22, the Scottish Parliament authorities gave him a further ten days to respond to the findings of their investigation.
Allies of the SNP MSP for Falkirk West had said that he required an extension to properly address the conclusions of the report.
READ MORE: Could Fergus Ewing’s suspension come back to haunt the SNP?
“He needs more time to go through it,” said a source close to Mr Matheson told The Times.
After the bill was disclosed on November 8, Mr Matheson initially claimed it was for “parliamentary business” but after a public outcry 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 last month that Mr Matheson’s extension request 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.
Since his resignation as health secretary, Mr Matheson has been absent from Holyrood and has missed key parliamentary votes.
Records show the SNP backbencher has missed a dozen votes including on the Scottish budget and the SNP's flagship national care service bill.
His lack of participation has prompted calls by the Scottish Conservatives for him to step down as a MSP.
Depending on the report's findings, Mr Matheson could be referred to either Holyrood’s standards, procedures and public appointments or the Ethical Standards Commissioner.
He could be at risk of being suspended as an MSP or having the whip withdrawn by the SNP.
A Scottish parliament spokesman said last month: “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.”
Mr Matheson was approached for comment.
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