The Scotsman FMQs Review Thursday February 08 2024

The Scotsman

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC]

00:10 >> Hello, and welcome to the Scotsman's post-First Minister's Questions Review.

00:16 We're here to talk about a significant announcement today.

00:20 In the hour leading into First Minister's Questions,

00:23 we have some news on Michael Matheson, the head secretary.

00:27 Elistin, can you talk us through exactly what has happened that he had to say?

00:31 >> Yeah, so this is Michael Matheson, the embattled health secretary who has

00:36 finally resigned over the iPad scandal that people might remember from last year.

00:41 And I think it's literally almost three months to the day since this story

00:45 started getting forced on the news.

00:47 It was obviously the £11,000 data roaming bill that had been racked up on his

00:52 Holyrood-issued iPad during a family holiday to Morocco.

00:56 He initially claimed this amount on expenses, then agreed to pay that back,

01:01 essentially pay the full amount back after a cry over whether

01:05 why the taxpayers should foot the bill for this.

01:08 It then emerged in a kind of emotional statement to the Scottish Parliament

01:12 that he had found out in the days running up to that statement that his teenage

01:16 sons had actually racked up the bill while live streaming football

01:21 using the parliamentary iPad as a Wi-Fi hotspot.

01:25 So that was the reason for these kind of colossal data roaming charges.

01:29 And Michael Matheson, at the time of that statement, I think it was in roughly

01:32 mid-November, had said that he'd only found out about his son's involvement

01:36 the week before that statement and had sort of made no reference to it

01:41 in order to protect his children.

01:43 And the problem there, you know, people might think that's a laudable aim.

01:47 And the problem there was in the days preceding that statement,

01:50 he had effectively misled the media and by extension the Scottish public

01:55 by, when he was asked directly, actually by us, by the Scotsman,

02:00 whether there'd been any personal use in his iPad, he had said no,

02:03 despite the fact that by that point he knew that his kids had obviously

02:08 used this to stream football.

02:09 So there's almost a sense of inevitability about this resignation.

02:12 It's been a long time coming.

02:13 There's been this probe by Holyrood, by the Scottish Parliamentary

02:17 corporate body that's been ongoing.

02:19 And that has, we understand, drawn to a conclusion.

02:22 It's reached its initial findings.

02:24 Michael Matheson was due to receive a copy of that report,

02:26 so he could then be given two weeks to respond to it.

02:29 And things have just come to a head.

02:31 Essentially, he has decided to resign.

02:33 And I think a lot of people will view this as a very self-inflicted wound

02:37 for the government.

02:38 A lot of questions why Michael Matheson didn't just resign last year

02:40 when this emerged, as I say, a sense of real inevitability to it.

02:44 And also huge questions for Humza Yousaf's political judgments.

02:47 The First Minister has stood by Michael Matheson.

02:50 He's called him a man of integrity, an honest man.

02:53 And now here we are, a couple of months down the line,

02:56 and Michael Matheson has resigned.

02:59 - Now, Lister, I need to ask you, in the resignation statement,

03:02 Matheson cited being a distraction and the fact he didn't want to be

03:06 for the government's agenda.

03:07 But to be frank, it's been a distraction for two months now.

03:11 So any thoughts from your end on why now?

03:16 - I think it really was just because things were coming to a head

03:18 with this report.

03:20 I mean, the thing which has exploded back into the headlines again,

03:23 there's been reports that this investigation by the Scottish

03:26 parliamentary corporate body has uncovered potentially damaging

03:30 new details.

03:31 Don't know that for sure, but that's certainly what's being reported.

03:34 And effectively, they would have just been looking at another

03:36 headline cycle, another cycle of this being in the news agenda.

03:39 And I think Michael Matheson, I think the timing of it today,

03:43 probably not to his choice.

03:45 I think we understand that this was going to be announced later on today

03:49 to time with a kind of mini reshuffle in the Scottish government.

03:52 But it was the letter that he'd written to Humza Yousaf was

03:55 essentially leaked.

03:57 So it came out just before First Minister's questions in Holyrood,

04:00 obviously dominated First Minister's questions.

04:03 Humza Yousaf doorstepped by the media afterwards as he exited the

04:07 chamber, very much not willing to stop and talk about it.

04:10 He just went straight up the ministerial tower.

04:12 But yeah, I mean, all eyes will be on the huge questions that Humza Yousaf

04:16 has got to answer about his own judgment and also that reshuffle later on,

04:20 who will be taken into that new health role.

04:22 I would maybe look at someone like Maddie McCallum as a possible

04:26 veteran, someone who could move into that role.

04:28 But yeah, it's just been a, it's not been Humza Yousaf or the first,

04:33 or the Scottish government's finest hour, to put it mildly.

04:38 - Just lastly, Alistair, I'm sure Anas Sarwar and Douglas Ross had

04:42 to tear up what they were going to ask at FMQs, but they would have enjoyed

04:45 doing it because this was an easy line for them to attack on.

04:49 But how did you think Humza Yousaf performed effectively in response

04:54 to their questions?

04:55 Douglas Ross asked for an apology and then he basically accused

05:00 Mafferson of dishonesty and said that it had left Humza's reputation

05:03 in tatters by standing by the minister.

05:06 Did you think Humza answered well or not?

05:09 - Yeah, so like you say, Douglas Ross very much saying that it makes

05:12 Humza Yousaf look weak.

05:13 I think he called him a human shield at one point.

05:16 I don't think Humza Yousaf dealt with it that well.

05:18 I think he tried to deflect attention onto things like Boris Johnson,

05:22 onto things like Richard Sinac's recent comments on issues around

05:27 transgender people, Prime Minister's questions earlier this week.

05:30 He just kept on trying to move the attention elsewhere,

05:33 not very successfully, I would add.

05:36 But in a sense, what can he say?

05:38 They've got into this situation, it's been pretty much self-inflicted.

05:41 They could have dealt with this months ago, they chose not to.

05:45 Even though I think most Hollywood watchers, most people observing

05:49 politics would have said that this was obviously going to happen

05:52 eventually, you can't really have a minister in a senior position

05:55 remain in post when they have lied or misled the public on an issue like this.

06:02 So I don't think he dealt with it that well.

06:04 I think I would say that you've got to have a little moment to pause

06:09 for Michael Mafferson's sons at this moment.

06:11 I think it's turned out to be probably the most expensive football game

06:15 they will ever watch in more ways than one.

06:19 Indeed, you can read all the latest on Michael Mafferson's resignation,

06:24 as well as the replay around it at FMQs at the Scotsman website.

06:29 We've got the full story there in the blog and there will be more analysis

06:32 coming this afternoon.

06:34 So please stay tuned on the website.

06:36 Alistair, thanks for joining us.

06:38 I know you've got to go away and quiz a few more people.

06:42 Thanks everyone else for listening in today.

06:45 (Music)

06:48 (upbeat music)

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