By Alistair Grant

Copyright scotsman

A former ombudsman has been appointed to carry out a review of Holyrood’s complaints process following the Michael Matheson iPad scandal. Mr Matheson was given a record ban from the Scottish Parliament last year for breaching its expenses policy. Rosemary Agnew, who was previously the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, will complete her review by the end of this year. The review will focus on the process for recommending and agreeing sanctions on MSPs. Mr Matheson held various senior government roles, serving as justice secretary and transport secretary under Nicola Sturgeon, before becoming health secretary when Humza Yousaf took over as first minister. However, Mr Matheson’s reputation was severely damaged in 2023 after it emerged an £11,000 data roaming bill had been racked up on his parliamentary iPad. The former SNP minister initially used his MSP expenses and office costs to cover the bill, before resolving to pay it himself following pressure from the opposition. In an emotional statement in Holyrood in November 2023, he said the cost had been incurred by his teenage sons, who had used the iPad as a wifi hotspot to watch football during a family holiday in Morocco. He had previously told journalists there had been no personal use of the device, even after discovering the truth. Mr Matheson was suspended from Holyrood for 27 days in May 2024 and lost his MSP salary for twice that period. He later said the scandal had been “completely blown out of all proportion” and had a significant impact on his family, particularly his children, while his wife became unwell with stress. “I think the thing that you need to realise is that when you become a minister, if you do make a mistake, you can end up in the eye of a political storm,” he told the Institute for Government. “The thing that acted as a big catalyst for me was that, as soon as the general election was called, everything was put on steroids. It became a massive issue because folk saw a political advantage they could get from it. It just got completely blown out of all proportion in my view.” In March, Mr Matheson announced he would stand down as an MSP at the Holyrood election next year.