Achi news desk-
The committee recommended that the former health secretary be suspended for 27 days over his £11,000 iPad expenses scandal.
The cross-party group of MSPs also called for his salary to be withdrawn for 54 days, a financial penalty roughly equivalent to the size of the former health secretary’s data roaming bill.
It was one of the harshest sanctions ever given by the committee.
The Senate is expected to vote on whether to approve the recommendations, but Mr Swinney’s comments suggest the SNP will not support the penalty.
READ MORE: Swinney will not support Holyrood’s Matheson ban
Asked about the committee’s decision during First Minister’s Questions, Mr Swinney pointed to comments made by Annie Wells when she said Mr Matheson’s “desperate efforts” to justify his expenses claim had been “rushed with lies, cover-ups and the need for us. all to suspend our disbelief.”
Mr Swinney said that if a constituent faced disciplinary action at work and their employer made similar comments, it would “come down on that employer like a tonne of bricks”.
He added: “That is the situation that Michael Matheson is facing here, and that is why I will not support the sanction.”
The First Minister said that Mr Matheson had “suffered significant damage to his family’s reputation as a result of losing his job and the problems that have been created here”, and added that he had paid back the roaming costs.
“This Parliament needs to seriously consider the damage to reputation that will result from presiding over an unfair process,” he added.
Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross accused Mr Matheson of “fraud and abuse of trust.”
He said his party would table a motion calling on the former minister to resign next week. Although that would not be binding, it could be embarrassing. It will only pass if it is supported by all opposition parties.
Mr Ross said: “That is incredible and indefensible from the Prime Minister.
“He told us when asking for our support to make him First Minister, he would be the First Minister of all of Scotland.
“What Scotland is seeing is that he is a Prime Minister who supports his friends.” Mr Ross said if the vote is approved, a by-election could be held on July 4 – the same date as the General Election.
Scottish Labor leader Anas Sarwar said the First Minister’s comments were “totally unbelievable and embarrassing”.
He added: “He has despised himself and the position of Prime Minister.
“Two weeks in and the pretense of a new type of Government has gone.
“Party first – country second.
“It is not the actions of a committee that should be judged, but the actions of a member who falsely tried to claim £11,000 of public money.”
Mr Sarwar urged the Prime Minister to “do the right thing for once and put the integrity of our Parliament and our democracy before your political party and demand that Michael Matheson resign so that the people of his constituency can vote for someone who is on their side, not fighting for themselves”.
In response, the First Minister said he had written twice to the convener of the committee with concerns about the fairness of the process.
READ MORE: John Swinney insists SNP can afford ‘well-funded election campaign’
Mr Matheson came under scrutiny last November when the Daily Telegraph revealed a data roaming bill of £10,935.74.
He initially agreed to pay £3,000 of his taxpayer-funded expenses, with the Scottish Parliament paying the rest.
However, days later, after journalists and MLAs questioned the payment, he agreed to pay the full amount out of his own pocket.
At first, he claimed the measure was the result of parliamentary work while on a family holiday in Morocco and a misunderstanding with a new sim card.
He then told MLAs in an emotional statement on November 16 that he had discovered that his sons had been watching football during the family trip.
He said he was informed by his wife on November 9 that the teenagers had used his parliamentary device as a wifi hotspot.
However, on November 13, when asked directly if there was “any personal use” of the device during the family vacation, he told reporters: “No.”
It also emerged that he had met with parliamentary authorities, including President Alison Johnstone during the period and did not tell them that his boys were responsible for racking up the charges.
In his statement, Mr Whitfield said that “the standards of behavior expected of Members of the Scottish Parliament” had not been met by Mr Matheson.
Month-long bans have been handed out before. Members of Parliament of the Scottish Socialist Party were punished in 2005 for disrupting the business of the chamber by protesting about the G8 summit. Former SNP minister Mark McDonald was also banned for a month for breaching the ASA’s code of conduct twice.
Speaking to journalists after Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Matheson said he would not be resigning.
“I think it’s quite clear that the process has become highly politicized, which has compromised the process and the fairness of the process,” he said.
“I also think that the sanctions they have imposed are excessive and they are unfair.”
Mr Matheson said it is now up to Parliament to decide on the next steps, and he promised to “stick” to whatever decision it takes.
