John Swinney has said he retains confidence in Neil Gray despite the Health Secretary being forced to apologise to the Scottish Parliament.
The First Minister today backed his under-fire Cabinet colleague after he admitted he had been wrong to assure MSPs there were official summaries of all discussions which took place when he attended football matches.
Gray has faced a backlash for taking chauffeur-driven Government limos to several games involving Aberdeen – the club he supports – and the Scotland national team.
It was revealed last week there is no written record of talks the Health Secretary was involved in when he attended the 2023 Scottish League Cup Final at Hampden.
His attendance at the game, between Aberdeen and Rangers, saw Gray previously apologise for giving “the impression of acting more as a fan and less as a minister”.
The SNP minister made his latest apology in the Holyrood chamber on Tuesday after MSPs had earlier accused him of making a “false statement” to parliament. Gray also admitted that he failed to follow strict rules requiring him to correct the official record within 20 days.
Asked about the apology, Swinney said today: “Neil explained that one specific, detailed point, in one of his answers to Parliament was not consistent with two other points he made during that statement.
“I think for me, the content of the issue hasn’t really changed since Neil made his parliamentary statement. It’s just quite simply there’s been an issue with one of the answers that he gave, and it didn’t have a caveat within it. So the substance hasn’t really changed.”
Asked if he had confidence in Gray, Swinney he replied: “Yes, of course I do.”
Gray told Parliament on Tuesday he reviewed an answer given to MSPs after his statement to parliament about the football engagements in November, when he said summaries of his conversations “will be available for all the engagements that I have been participating in”.
He told MSPs: “Despite being clear earlier in the session that I would need to check, I recognise that I asserted that there would be summaries available for all the engagements. It has since come to light that this is incorrect and I am sorry for that inadvertent error”.
Referring to the 20-days rule, Gray admitted: “That time has unfortunately passed, and so I am seeking your guidance now, Presiding Officer, on how I can best make members aware of the position I have set out today.”
He made the statement in a point of order after Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone had said earlier it was of “paramount importance” that accurate information is given to parliament.
Gray attended nine football matches involving Aberdeen or Scotland between 2022 and 2024 when he used a government limo.
He was forced to admit he took a ‘family member or guest’ to all the Aberdeen games and two Scotland matches he went to on “official business”. In November, he reassured parliament that the matches were not junkets and that officials had made a record of his meetings.
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