FM told to suspend Michael Matheson from SNP group

Douglas Ross has written to the First Minister calling on him to “belatedly show firm leadership” following Thursday’s confirmation by Holyrood’s corporate body that the former health secretary had breached two sections of the MSP code of conduct.

In his letter, the Scottish Conservative leader says that, while so far Mr Matheson has refused to resign as an MSP, Mr Yousaf can and should suspend the party whip while the standards committee looks at the corporate body report.

READ MORE: Could Fergus Ewing’s suspension come back to haunt the SNP?

Mr Ross points out that Mr Matheson’s offence is far graver than that of Mr Ewing, who had the SNP whip suspended “just for acknowledging that Scottish Green minister Lorna Slater isn’t up to the job”.

Mr Ross said: “The findings of the parliamentary inquiry are utterly damning and it’s clear that Michael Matheson’s position as an MSP is untenable.

“Humza Yousaf inexplicably stood by his friend – absurdly calling him a man of integrity – when it was clear to everyone that the disgraced former health secretary had repeatedly lied during this scandal.

“Having displayed appalling judgment throughout this saga, he must belatedly show some leadership by removing the SNP whip from Michael Matheson, while the standards investigation is ongoing. If Matheson had any decency he would resign as an MSP.

“Humza Yousaf was happy to suspend Fergus Ewing just for acknowledging that Scottish Green minister Lorna Slater isn’t up to the job. So there is no excuse for him not to punish someone who has been found guilty of multiple breaches of the MSP code of conduct.”

SNP MSPs voted to suspend Mr Ewing in September after he backed the motion in Ms Slater in June over her handling of the now defunct deposit return scheme.

He appealed the decision but lost his appeal and was suspended for a week at the end of February.

The MSP for Inverness and Nairn said he had been standing up for businesses in his area, as the scheme would have led to higher costs for them, by supporting the motion against Ms Slater. 

Mr Matheson stepped down from his Cabinet post last month, citing the ongoing parliamentary investigation into the bill as the reason.

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) published its findings on Thursday – but said its full report will be released after consideration by Holyrood’s Standards Committee.

READ MORE:  Could Fergus Ewing’s suspension come back to haunt the SNP?

The body said: “The SPCB decided that, based on the evidence presented in the investigation report and its findings in fact, Mr Matheson had breached sections 7.3 and 7.4 of the code of conduct and thereby upheld the three complaints within the SPCB’s remit.

“While the costs to the public purse had been addressed, the SPCB agreed that the Nolan Principles of Standards in Public Life, embedded in the scheme and underpinning the appropriate use of parliamentary resources, represented the high standard by which all members must abide and in which the SPCB considered the public must continue to have confidence.”

Scottish Cabinet members in May 2016 at Bute House, Edinburgh, from the left, Fergus Ewing Secretary for Rural Economy & Connectivity, Michael Matheson Justice Secretary, Keith Brown Secretary for Economy, Angela Constance Secretary for Communities, Permament Secretary Leslie Evans, Fist Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Deputy John Swinney, Fiona Hyslop Secretary for Culture, Shona Robison Secretary for Health & Sport, Roseanna Cunningham Secretary for Environment & Climate Change, Derek Mackay Secretary for Finance and Joe Fitzpatrick Secretary for Parliamentary Business. Photo credit: Gordon Terris/The Herald/PA Wire

The report will be referred to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee to consider if the former minister should be sanctioned.

The SPCB – which made no recommendations as to potential punishment – said the full report, including annexes, will be published after the committee’s consideration.

Mr Matheson was found to have breached clauses of the MSP code of conduct which say members must “abide by the policies” of the SPCB and that “no improper use should be made of any payment or allowance made to members for public purposes”.

READ MORE: Michael Matheson saga set to drag on - what happens next?

Initially, Mr Matheson used his MSP expenses and office costs to cover the bill, before resolving to pay it himself following pressure from the opposition and the public.

In an emotional statement in Holyrood last year, the then health secretary said the costs had been incurred by his teenage sons, who had used the parliamentary iPad as a wifi hotspot to watch football during a holiday in Morocco.

Mr Matheson had initially told journalists there had been no personal use of the device.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said “appropriate action” must be taken against the former health secretary.

READ MORE: SNP MSPs vote to suspend Fergus Ewing from Holyrood group

“The conclusion of this long running investigation is to be welcomed, but the findings pose serious questions for the First Minister and the SNP Government,” she said.

“The fact is that (First Minister) Humza Yousaf and senior ministers were complicit in Michael Matheson’s attempt to mislead the Parliament.

“This is a serious error of judgment.

“Appropriate action must be taken against Mr Matheson.”

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamitlon said yesterday: "From the very start, the First Minister insisted that the public had no interest in this affair and that there was no case to answer. Now, Michael Matheson has been found to have breached the Code of Conduct for MSPs on two separate grounds.

“At best the First Minister was extremely gullible about the conduct of his former Health Secretary, at worst he was complicit in covering it up.  “It is vital that we now let the Standards Committee do its work and consider an appropriate sanction.”

Once the standards committee makes a sanction recommendation it will be put to the whole parliament, meaning a majority of MSPs has to agree for it to be passed.

Although Mr Matheson can be suspended from Holryood and have other financial privileges withdrawn, such as his ability to claim expenses, there is no equivalent to the facility for his constituents to force a recall petition and remove him from office that exists for MPs in the House of Commons.

Mr Matheson has been posted missing from Holyrood since he stepped down as health secretary last month.

Last May, the Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman was suspended from one meeting of the equalities committee after failing to declare a financial interest.

Previously Mark McDonald, a former SNP minister, was suspended from Holyrood for a month without pay after he was found to have sexually harassed staff, while Annie Wells and Alexander Burnett, both Conservative MSPs, were banned from parliament for a week and prohibited from asking parliamentary questions for two weeks respectively after Ms Wells spoke to the media before a report was published and Mr Burnett twice breached the code of conduct.

In 2007, Brian Monteith, a former Scottish Conservative MSP, was banned from Holyrood for five sitting days for speaking to the media before publication and in 2005 four Scottish Socialist MSPs were suspended after staging a sit-in that disrupted first minister’s questions.

An SNP spokesperson said: "Whipping issue are an internal parliamentary group matter. While the standards committee process is ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment."