Michael Matheson: Scotland's health secretary quits over iPad row

Scotland's health secretary Michael Matheson, who racked up an £11,000 bill on his parliamentary iPad while on holiday, has resigned.

Mr Matheson said he was standing down because he did not want the row over the bill to become a distraction.

It comes ahead of the publication of an investigation into the incident by the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body.

The iPad charges, initially paid out of the public purse, were incurred during a trip to Morocco in late 2022.

In December Mr Matheson admitted that his sons had used data from the device to watch football.

He has since paid back the bill in full and apologised.

In his resignation letter to First Minister Humza Yousaf, Mr Matheson said he had still not received the corporate body's report.

He added: "However, 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."

After Mr Matheson admitted his sons had been involved, the first minister resisted calls to sack him and denied he had been misled by the health secretary.

Mr Matheson, who has served in government for more than 12 years, had been due to give a statement to parliament on Thursday afternoon about changes to minimum unit pricing for alcoholic drinks.

His junior minister, Elena Whitham, also resigned this week, citing health issues.