SNP minister Neil Gray to make Holyrood statement over football chauffeur row

Neil Gray told journalists he will answer questions from MSPs in Holyrood later this week, with his statement expected to be delivered on Thursday.

“I think it’s important that parliament is given the opportunity to explore these issues,” he said.

Mr Gray is facing criticism after it was reported that he was chauffeured to Hampden to watch three Aberdeen games.

The health secretary was given VIP seats by the Scottish Football Association three times, once in his current role and two when he was wellbeing economy, fair work and energy secretary.

Those included the Aberdeen v Hibernian match for the semi-final of the League Cup and the final against Rangers last year, as well as the semi-final of the Scottish Cup against Celtic this year.

The Scottish Tories previously urged Mr Gray - who is an Aberdeen supporter - to explain himself to MSPs and compared the revelations to the Michael Matheson affair, but the SNP accused the Tories of “faux outrage”.

Mr Gray took over from Mr Matheson earlier this year following an expenses row. The latter had billed the the taxpayer for a £10,000 iPad roaming charge that he later admitted was clocked up by his sons watching football.

He repaid the costs after the story broke but later quit in light of a critical report by Holyrood officials which found he breached parliament’s expenses policy.

Scottish Tory deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said her party had “successfully forced Neil Gray into making a statement to parliament on his chauffeur scandal”.

She added: "His defences are getting weaker by the minute and by delaying the statement to Thursday, it looks like the SNP are buying more time to try and get their story straight.

“This scandal reeks of the Michael Matheson affair. Once again, the public seem to be picking up the bill for an SNP minister to watch the football.

“Neil Gray must end the secrecy and outline in full the exact nature of these meetings and explain why he thinks they can possibly be considered as government business. The public’s trust in SNP politicians is broken and they are sick and tired of their rank hypocrisy.

“It's time Neil Gray and other SNP ministers stopped hiding behind political spin and admitted exactly what they have done.”

A Scottish Government spokesman previously said: “The Scottish Government places great importance on the success of Scottish sporting events.

“Not only do they bring significant economic benefits, but they are also a key driver of improving the health and wellbeing of our citizens.

“As the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, Mr Gray attends a number of sporting events such as golf, football and athletics to support workers and players.

“In the past, he has used such visits to announce and promote a number of initiatives, such as the changing rooms extra time mental health programme.

“Ministers attending events in a ministerial capacity are entitled to use government transport.

“All travel costs are in accordance with travel and subsistence policies to ensure we deliver the best value for money possible for the Scottish public.”