HUMZA Yousaf could barely contain his anger this afternoon after Douglas Ross branded him “weak” and said his “credibility is gone” over Michael Matheson‘s iPad scandal.
The Scottish Conservative leader went on to say that the First Minister’s “reputation is in tatters” after he previously defended Mr Matheson.
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It comes after the under-fire SNP minister resigned as Health Secretary over the iPad expenses shame today.
He quit amid a probe into taxpayers being charged £11,000 for his holiday roaming charges bill after he gave false assurances to parly bosses.
It is claimed the Nats minister did not want to become a distraction to the government’s ongoing work, as he faced a potentially damning probe into his use of a parliamentary iPad while on holiday in Morocco.
This is despite Mr Matheson not yet receiving the results of the Holyrood probe into the scandal.
When the scandal first broke, Mr Yousaf defended him and called him a “man of integrity and honesty”.
He went on to claim that Mr Matheson had chosen to lie to the press and public about his kids’ involvement in the scandal to “protect his children from media scrutiny and media spotlight.”
At the time he added: “Look for me, Michael, who I’ve known for well over 15 years is a man of integrity and honesty.
“He should have handled the situation better, Michael knows that.”
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But at First Minister’s Questions today, Mr Ross said the SNP’s handling of the scandal has meant that the people of Scotland “can’t trust a single word this SNP government ever says again”.
In the heated debate, Mr Yousaf was left furious as a row erupted inside Parliament.
Mr Ross said: “It’s like Humza Yousaf doesn’t realise his disgraced former health secretary resigned this morning. It’s incredible.
“But Humza Yousaf said the £11,000 claim was a legitimate parliamentary expense.
“The First Minister claimed months ago that the matter was closed. There was nothing more to see here.
“He told me in this chamber last year he had absolute and full confidence in Michael Matheson.
“He said Michael Matheson was a man of integrity and honesty. Humza Yousaf backed him to the hilt.
“But most of Scotland has known from the very beginning that Michael Matheson was dishonest.
“Humza Yousaf’s own reputation is in tatters over the scandal. He looks weak.
“Now, trust in this government is gone. The SNP’s credibility is gone. Michael Matheson is gone.
“But Humza Yousaf, the human shield, is still here defending him. First Minister, how can anyone trust a single word this SNP government ever says again?”
Fuming, Mr Yousaf responded: “Well, well, well. Presiding Officer Douglas Ross wants to talk about trust.
“Did he not see the Ipsos MORI yesterday that showed that we the SNP is trusted?”
But the Presiding Officer was forced to intervene after he began shouting across the room.
She said: “First Minister, we are simply not going to be conducting our business in this manner, I ask the front benches in particular, to set the best of examples.”
Mr Yousaf continued: “Well, they don’t want to listen to the facts, Presiding Officer – and the facts show that the SNP still continues to be trusted by the people of Scotland over the NHS over the economy, over transport over health and compare it in stark contrast to the conservatives.”
As Mr Ross tried to shout back at the First Minister, the Presiding Officer intervened a second time.
She said: “Mr Ross, you have put your questions. The First Minister is now responding. Let us do one another the courtesy.
“We may not always agree with what we are hearing, but we are simply not going to shout at one another. Are we?”
Mr Yousaf carried on: “How dare Douglas Ross stand up in this parliament and this chamber and this week of all weeks and talk about standards in public life when his leader, the Prime Minister, quite literally gambled with the lives of the most vulnerable this week.”
Timeline of events
Holyrood changes mobile provider from EE to Vodafone and officials repeatedly tell MSPs including Michael Matheson to switch sim cards.
December 27:
Mr Matheson travels to Morocco for a holiday with his family.
December 28:
Contacts Scottish Parliament IT department, telling them he is out of the country and that his phone is not working.
Two phone calls made to the IT department. Mr Matheson says he was advised they had checked with the network operator and explained his data package was suitable for use in Morocco. They suggest he should replace the sim card in his phone.
Hibernian play Celtic at Easter Road, with suggestions this could have been one of the matches watched. That day, 1.260GB of data was used at a cost of £2,249.
January 2:
Rangers play Celtic at Ibrox. On the same day, 3.18GB of data is used, costing £7,346. A further £1,320 charge is listed for a separate entry on that date.
February 7:
Mr Matheson is informed of the total £11,000 bill for his roaming charges by parliamentary officials.
March:
An expenses claim of £3,000 is made under ‘office cost provision’ by Mr Matheson for ‘Mobile phone charges Morocco’. This claim does not come to light until expenses data for MSPs is published on November 7, 2023.
It later emerges that Mr Matheson had agreed to pay £3,000 towards the total £11,000 bill from his office running costs, with parliament picking up the rest.
November 8:
Journalists probe the expenses claim. The agreement that was reached between Mr Matheson and the parliament in March is revealed by officials. They say they were assured by Mr Matheson the costs were racked up in relation to parliamentary business and “not for personal or government use”.
A spokesperson for Mr Matheson says it was a “legitimate parliamentary expense to
cover constituency work while overseas”.
November 9:
Mr Matheson claims that it was on this evening he was made aware by his wife that other members of their family had made use of the iPad’s data.
November 10:
After pressure from political opponents and media scrutiny, Mr Matheson says he will repay the full cost of the roaming charges from his personal funds. However, he still stands by the assurance that the usage was for parliamentary reasons.
November 13
Asked directly by journalists if there was any personal use of the iPad, Mr Matheson says: “No, As I made very clear on that when parliament investigated this issue.”
November 15
The Scottish Parliament releases Mr Matheson’s data usage. He meets with Presiding Officer Alison Johnston that afternoon.
The Scottish Parliament’s corporate body says it is satisfied that “due diligence” checks were carried out on Mr Matheson’s iPad and his billing charges, with written assurances sought and received all use was for parliamentary purposes.
November 16
Mr Matheson makes a personal statement at the Scottish Parliament admitting that the iPad was used to watch football matches. He denies that he watched the football and did not know that his sons had been watching the football.
November 23
The Scottish Parliament Corporate Body launches an investigation into Mr Matheson after the Nats minister referred himself to the cross-party body. They pledge to carry out the probe “promptly” and say that the findings will be published.
December 7
Minutes of a SPCB meeting on November 30 are published. They set out the remit of the investigation, including whether an improper claim was made by Mr Matheson under MSPs’ expenses scheme.
The SPCB also says it expects an initial statement of provisional findings in January.
February 8
Rumours circulate at Holyrood that Mr Matheson faced damning new evidence about his conduct in the scandal. But parly sources insist he has yet to receive the findings.
February 8 – 11am
The health secretary resigns from his post, claiming he did not want to become a “distraction” to the government’s work. He was set to give a statement on plans to increase the minimum price of a unit of alcohol the same afternoon.
In his resignation letter today, Mr Matheson said he had still yet to receive the results of the probe.
He said: “It is in the best interest of myself and the Government for me to now step down to ensure this does not become a distraction to taking forward the government’s agenda.
“I am enormously grateful to you for appointing me as Health Secretary and for the support that you have given me throughout the last year, it has meant a great deal to both me and my family.
“You are assured of my full support from the backbenches, as the MSP for Falkirk West, in driving forward our agenda and delivering an independent Scotland.”
His resignation leaves the SNP without both their alcohol and drugs minister and health secretary ahead of an impending announcement confirming an increase to the minimum unit price of alcohol.
Scottish Labour deputy leader, Dame Jackie Baillie, said Humza Yousaf faces “big questions” over his “lack of judgement” on the Matheson scandal, and that “shuffling the SNP deckchairs” will make no difference to Scotland’s NHS.
She said: “While our NHS is in crisis, Humza Yousaf has shown his weakness by putting the SNP before our NHS.
“Now more than ever we need a health minister focused on the crisis at hand.”
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “Our health service is on its knees.
“Patients are waiting an age for treatment and staff are overworked on every shift.
“They all deserve better than an SNP minister who has lost their trust and could no longer focus on the day job.
“From Humza Yousaf to Michael Matheson, our NHS has known only crisis, soaring vacancies and ever longer waits.
“Their NHS Recovery Plan has failed.”
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Mr Matheson came under huge pressure in November and December over his MSP iPad bill.
He later lied to the public about the issue in media interviews, before claiming that the charges were due to his sons streaming footie during a family holiday in Morocco.