In France, it could almost make you smile… but not in Scotland.
The Scottish Health Minister submitted his resignation on Thursday after a scandal caused by a football match watched by his sons on his office iPad during a holiday in Morocco, which caused his telephone bill to rise to more than 12,000 euros.
While the Scottish Parliament must report the conclusions of its investigation into this embarrassing affair for the independentists in power, Michael Matheson explained in his resignation letter that he preferred to leave the government so as not to “divert attention” from his action policy.
Statement pic.twitter.com/4Fc5XPnjyD
— Michael Matheson MSP (@MathesonMichael) February 8, 2024
The affair broke out in November 2023, almost a year after the minister's family vacation in Morocco between the end of December 2022 and the beginning of January 2023. Michael Matheson first said he used his electronic tablet to work, which would have led to the Scottish taxpayer having to foot this bill.
But the opposition calculated that it would have been necessary to send thousands of emails in the space of a few hours to reach this amount.
He therefore ended up admitting in front of Parliament that his teenage sons had watched a football game on the device, apologizing to elected officials, and resolved to repay this sum of around 11,000 pounds (12,900 euros). ).
The Prime Minister favors his resignation
Expressing his "sadness" at this announcement, Prime Minister Humza Yousaf also recognized that it was "preferable" for Michael Matheson to leave his government now, so that future revelations about his roaming charges The stranger “does not become a distraction”.
Michael Matheson, 53, joined the Scottish government in 2011, and has held various positions for 13 years, notably in Justice, Transport, then Health since March 2023.