A Scottish parliamentary body has concluded that former health secretary Michael Matheson’s £11,000 iPad data roaming bill breached the MSP code of conduct.

Mr Matheson Resigned from cabinet last monthciting an investigation by the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body (SPCB) as the reason.

Releasing its findings on Thursday, the SPCB said its full report would be released following consideration by the Holyrood Standards Committee.

Mr Matheson was found to have breached terms of the MSP’s code of conduct, which states that members must “comply with the policies of the SPCB” and “shall not use any payments or allowances paid to members for public purposes”.

The SPCB said: “Based on the evidence provided in the investigation report and its findings of fact, the SPCB found that Mr Matheson breached clauses 7.3 and 7.4 of the Code of Conduct and therefore upheld the three complaints within the SPCB’s remit.

“While the cost to public funds has been addressed, the SPCB agrees that the Nolan Principles of Standards of Public Life, which are embedded in the scheme and support the appropriate use of council resources, represent high standards that all members must abide by, and the SPCB believes that the public must continue to be So confident.”

The report will be submitted to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee to consider whether Falkirk West MSP should be sanctioned.

The cross-party body responsible for the Scottish Parliament Investigation launched in November Around Christmas 2022, Mr Matheson took his parliamentary iPad with him on a week-long visit to Morocco with his family.

His iPad roaming charges (not phone bills) totaling nearly £11,000 were initially paid for by the taxpayer as Matheson claimed he received eye-watering invoices for constituency work he carried out while traveling.

Mr Matheson – as Scottish NHS Rehabilitation, Health and Social Care Cabinet Secretary earns £118,511 a year – later Agree to pay back the money Presented to the Scottish Parliament.

After the story hit the headlines, his Teenage son uses iPad as hotspot for watching football games On family vacation.

Mr Matheson is Minister for Net Zero Emissions, Energy and Transport Nicola Sturgeon’s Govt at the time of the incident.

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Matheson was appointed health minister after Humza Yousaf became chief minister in March last year. He told Holyrood that when he originally tabled the bill, he was unaware his sons were using iPads as hotspots.

He claims his wife told him the truth after the story sparked a public outcry.

Mr Matheson initially made no public mention of his sons’ involvement following his wife’s admission. Instead, he continued to insist the iPad was only used for parliamentary work and blamed the exorbitant bills on outdated SIM cards.

When questioned by reporters days after learning the truth, he continued to deny the iPad was being used for personal use until he issued a statement to Holyrood.

Mr Matheson resigned as health minister last month before formally receiving the results of the SPCB review.

He said it was in his and the Scottish Government’s “best interests” to resign to ensure it “does not become a distraction to advancing the Government’s agenda”.

In response, the First Minister said he had “sadly” accepted Mr Matheson’s resignation.

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoey said it was a “devastating and devastating report”.

He added: “This amounts to the most serious accusation against any elected member of Parliament and Mr Matheson must do the right thing and resign as an MP immediately.

“He must also confirm that, given the contents of the report, he will not take a penny of the minister’s severance package.

“The public saw through the repeated lies from the outset and now they have been thoroughly debunked.

“Humza Youssef must also urgently explain why he supported his former cabinet colleague for so long, rather than sack him when his lies were first exposed.”

A spokesman for Mr Matheson said it would be “inappropriate to comment” while the matter was being considered by the Standards Committee.