MICHAEL IS AN HONEST PERSON.. HE WON’T QUIT AS AN MSP
Ex-health secretary facing rule breach rap
HUMZA Yousaf has signalled michael matheson will not resign as an MSP despite breaking parliamentary rules in an expenses row. The First Minister today described the former health secretary as a “decent person who made a mistake”. Matheson was forced to quit his Cabinet role last month after a row over why he initially charged an £11,000 data roaming bill to the taxpayer. The Falkirk West MSP repaid the cash after admitting the bill was run up by his teen sons streaming football on his official iPad on holiday. Last week the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body ruled Matheson had breached the MSPs code of conduct. The case will now be reviewed by Holyrood’s Standards Committee, who will decide whether to sanction him.
Yousaf previously branded Matheson a man of “honesty”. Asked if he still thought that, he told BBC Scotland: “Michael made a mistake. There’s no ifs, buts or maybes about that.
“Decent people can make mistakes. Michael has made a mistake and paid the price for that. He has paid back all of the money, of course, and he’ll now be referred to the Parliament’s Standards Committee, who will make a judgement and I won’t interfere in that process.”
Asked if his job as an MSP was under threat, Yousaf said: “No, again, I don’t think that’s the case. He’s a decent person who made a mistake. There’s MSPs who have made mistakes and had to face the consequences of those mistakes.
“I’ve not heard Michael suggest anything other than he’ll accept whatever the consequences are.”
Last week Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “From the very start, the FM insisted that the public had no interest in this affair and there was no case to answer.
“At best the FM was extremely gullible about the conduct of his former health secretary, at worst he was complicit in covering it up.
“It is vital we now let the Standards Committee do its work and consider an appropriate sanction.”
decent people can make mistakes. he made a mistake and paid the price humza yousaf on matheson