Gray apologises over football match meetings

Health Secretary Neil Gray has apologised for "inadvertently" misleading MSPs over the documentation of meetings at football matches he attended.

Opposition parties accused the SNP minister of making a false statement at Holyrood by saying summaries were available for all of the meetings.

But, following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, a Sunday newspaper was told by the government there was no note produced of the meeting at the 2023 League Cup final at Hampden Park.

Gray told MSPs he was sorry for the inadvertent error and wished to correct the record.

The Scottish Conservatives said he had been forced into a "humiliating apology", while Labour said he only apologised due to pressure from opposition parties and the media.

Following an FOI request, the Sunday Post newspaper was told by the government there was no note produced of the meeting at the 2023 League Cup Final which saw Rangers defeat Aberdeen at Hampden.

In November, Gray apologised for giving the impression of "acting more as a fan and less as a minister" after using ministerial cars to attend four Aberdeen games.

He described all the engagements as "official ministerial business" but said he should have "attended a wider range" of matches.

In a statement to parliament the minister said he attended six games, including two involving the Scottish national team.

At Holyrood, Conservative MSP Stephen Kerr said the government's response to the Sunday Post contradicted Gray's earlier assertion that there were records from all the meetings.

He accused the minister of making a false statement to the chamber, while Labour's Neil Bibby urged Gray to give a further statement explaining the "glaring inconsistency".

Gray apologised to parliament later in the session.

"I recognise that I asserted that there would be summaries available for all the engagements," he told MSPs.

"It has since come to light that this is incorrect and I am sorry for that inadvertent error."

He told MSPs that in his original statement he was "explicitly clear" that not all meetings had to be minuted and that summary notes would be available for the majority of them.

However, he acknowledged that in a subsequent answer to Kerr he said summaries would be available for all of the engagements.

Under Holyrood's standing orders, parliamentarians have 20 days to make corrections to the official report.

Gray said that deadline had "unfortunately" passed.

He sought guidance from Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone on how he could "best make members aware" of his latest apology.

Scottish Conservative MSP Douglas Ross raised further questions about Gray's statements

He pointed out that ministers would have been aware there was no record of the cup final meeting when the Sunday Post published its story at the weekend.

"Clearly, Scottish government ministers knew about this when they released the FoI and at the very latest on Sunday when the article appeared."

He asked if the presiding officer had been notified that Gray wanted to correct the record before the case was raised again in parliament by Kerr.

Johnstone said she had not.

Gray was joined by a family member or guest at six of the football matches.

He said that they travelled with him but at no additional cost to the taxpayer.

The ministerial code has since been updated to say family members should only join ministers in cars when it is in the public interest, on security grounds, or in "exceptional" circumstances.

First Minister John Swinney has said he considers the matter "closed".