Kate Forbes defends SNP Health Secretary Neil Gray being chauffeured to watch Aberdeen games

Kate Forbes has defended her SNP Cabinet colleague Neil Gray after he was chauffeured to watch three Aberdeen games.

The Deputy First Minister insisted that as Gray is Health Secretary it was appropriate for him to attend professional matches in an official capacity.

Speaking on a visit to Glasgow today, Forbes it was “appropriate” for Gray – a Dons fan – to attend three Aberdeen matches at Hampden because his portfolio includes sport.

The Health Secretary is set to make a statement to Holyrood on Thursday over the row following calls from the Tories.

Gray attended one of the cup ties during his time as Health Secretary while the other two were in his previous role as wellbeing economy, fair work and energy secretary. All were paid for by the Scottish Football Association.

Forbes said: "Neil Gray is the minister for health and sport, so it is quite appropriate that he engages with stakeholders in the health service but also within the sports world, and that includes football.

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"Now he is making a statement to Parliament this week on the questions that have arisen in the press.

"He will be able to take questions from the opposition and answer them robustly, because he has operated, as I understand it, entirely within the rules of what governs both our transport as well as how we engage with stakeholders.”

Asked if it was a resigning issue, Forbes said: “I don’t think it is, no. I think that as the minister for health and sport, it is entirely appropriate for him to engage with sports stakeholders.”

The Scottish Conservatives accused the SNP of “shoddy excuses” for Mr Gray and said the row “reeks of the Michael Matheson iPad affair”.

Matheson quit as health secretary earlier this year following a row about a £10,000 roaming bill.

The politician had initially charged the taxpayer for the expense – run up during a family holiday by his sons – but later repaid it when the story broke.

He resigned ahead of a Holyrood report that found he broke the Parliament’s rules around expenses.

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