Former SNP minister faces record suspension over iPad data charges

A politician in Scotland, Michael Matheson, got in trouble for trying to use his work expenses to pay for his children's iPad bill. He was suspended from the Scottish Parliament for 27 days and lost a lot of money from his salary. This is the longest suspension ever given to a politician in Holyrood. Even though his party didn't support the punishment, it still passed. Matheson didn't resign from his position despite calls to do so. The Scottish Parliament wants to review its complaints process to make sure it's fair and trustworthy. Matheson, who used public money wrongly, will be away from Parliament for 27 days and won't get paid for 54 days. He said sorry and accepted the decision. The First Minister, John Swinney, who is friends with Matheson, also agreed with the punishment. The Scottish Labour deputy leader thinks Matheson's voters should be able to remove him from his position. The Parliament agreed that Matheson's iPad bill would be paid from public funds after his family used it to watch football games. Matheson left his job as health secretary in February after breaking the rules. The SNP party didn't fully support the punishment but wanted a review of the complaints process. In the end, the punishment was passed, and Matheson had to stay away from Parliament and lose his pay. The SNP party didn't fully agree with the decision but didn't stop it from happening. The Greens supported the punishment but had concerns about the process. The Scottish Tories wanted Matheson to quit and suggested a by-election. The Scottish Liberal Democrats also said Matheson should step down because he lost the trust of the public.