Latest news with #MichaelMatheson
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
GRAHAM GRANT: Binge watching Netflix and gorging on public money...the laptop civil servants of a grossly bloated state
You have to feel for the massed ranks of civil servants stretching out in their back gardens in the baking hot weather. It could get boring as the long hours stretch ahead, and there's a lot of work to do including deleting all those memos about coming back to the office. Don't worry, though, they have plenty to keep them busy, including their government-issued laptops which provide an unlimited supply of entertainment. As the Scottish Mail on Sunday revealed, our tireless public servants have been watching Netflix and even accessing porn websites on their taxpayer-funded devices. So many of them streamed their favourite Netflix shows in the past six months that officials say the number of attempts to log onto the streaming channel is too high to calculate. The data was the result of a request under freedom of information laws, so the results might well have been collated by home-working civil servants in between binge-watching The Thick of It - or logging onto Pornhub. It's all at your expense, and yet we shouldn't be shocked as this is the administration which fought tooth and nail to keep Michael Matheson in his job. He was the hapless Health Secretary who racked up a data-roaming bill of nearly £11,000 on his parliamentary iPad and tried to claim the costs back from the public purse. It's also the government which is pushing ahead with a four-day week for public sector workers – how selfless of them to take the plunge before everyone else. Tone deafness has become a speciality: back in 2020, in the midst of economic turmoil, civil servants cashed in on inflation-busting pay hikes of up to 12 per cent. Kate Forbes, then Finance Secretary, signed off on the deal shortly after taking over from Derek Mackay - who quit over his extensive online interaction with a teenage boy - just as the pandemic began to run riot. The sprawling state in all of its varied manifestations under the SNP has a talent for looking after itself, even as public services sink further into chaos and dysfunction. In their home offices, or lounging on deckchairs during the sunny spell, they have more on their minds than fixing these seemingly intractable problems – which in many cases they helped to create, or exacerbate – including catching up on the latest episode of The White Lotus. Well, there has to be some distraction from the important business of drawing up plans for the next tax raid, or costly handout. The bloated civil service in Scotland has grown by more than 70 per cent since 2016 - the workforce stood at more than 9,000 in 2024 and costs more than £600million a year. A new edict has been issued, ordering civil servants to spend an average of 40 per cent of their time in the office – not an unreasonable demand, by any yardstick. Yet many of those on the payroll are said to be furious at the move with some complaining about the extra commuting costs - while one report stated that some saw it as 'an attack on their human rights'. The rights of taxpayers are an afterthought - but then they always were for the vast behemoth of the state machine whose primary aims are expansion and self-preservation. Some public sector workers only need to attend their office one day a week while council staff have been allowed to work from far-flung locations including Japan, India and Australia. The legion of entitled home-workers taking us for a ride are supposed to be entirely impartial, though their political masters have pushed them into drafting absurd 'papers' on independence. Where were they when the SNP was forging ahead with botched transgender reforms, or Named Person, or the bottle Deposit Return Scheme? They were either giving sage advice which was ignored, or bad advice which was accepted (or else they were too busy on Netflix). Then there are those for whom the boundaries became dangerously blurred, including senior civil servant Ken Thomson who urged colleagues to destroy Covid-era WhatsApp messages Mr Thomson, who retired in 2023, had been appointed to further the cause of independence - and in 2022 he was accused of bragging that breaking up the UK was his job. Back in 2020, he told colleagues in a WhatsApp group called Covid Outbreak: 'Just to remind you (seriously) this is discoverable under FOI [freedom of information]. Know where the 'clear chat' button is.' Mr Thomson added: 'Plausible deniability are my middle names. Now clear it again!' He also wrote in 2021: 'I feel moved at this point to remind you that this channel is FOI recoverable' – and helpfully included a zipped mouth emoji in his message. Now FOI has lifted the curtain on the working practices of the organisation he helped to run – doubtless Mr Thomson would be furious about it if he were still in post and not enjoying a pension pot worth £1.5million. Reward for failure is nothing new – in April, it emerged that the First Minister had quietly lifted a long-standing salary freeze for ministers. All ten members of his Cabinet and 13 junior ministers have accepted the rise, which will entitle them to £19,126 extra per year. At the last minute, John Swinney decided not to take the pay increase – but the damage was done. While you're struggling to make ends meet and keep a roof over your head, the people presiding over the country's rapid decline are cashing in on a massive salary boost. At every level, this government has failed in spectacular style - but its bosses couldn't care less whether you think they deserve a huge pay rise. That mindset also helps to explain the arrogance of their flunkeys logging onto betting accounts and streaming services, assuming they'd never be caught out. Yet how can we expect those living high on the hog at our considerable expense to mastermind the rebirth of a shattered economy? For those on the breadline, as their companies collapse or they lose their jobs, it's just another illustration of the venal hypocrisy hard-wired into the upper tiers of a rotten, failing state. For years, the SNP has bleated about 'austerity' at every turn, imposed on Scotland by uncaring regimes in London, and now we can see why their loathing of it was quite so visceral. Austerity is a foreign concept to the army of well-remunerated apparatchiks - many of them implicated in this Government's abysmal failures, or busily employed in attempting to airbrush them out of existence. Businesses are crying out for some sign that the government cares about their survival - and the rest of us are sick of paying sky-high taxes for deteriorating public services. An entitlement culture has taken root so deeply that it can never be fully excised - and shamefully there's no political appetite to curb its relentless growth.
Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Civil servants using work laptops to watch porn and place bets
Civil servants working from home have used their official laptops to visit pornography and gambling sites. In the past six months at least 16 attempts were made to view pornography or visit bookmakers online using devices funded by Scottish taxpayers, records show. The figures were obtained by the Scottish Conservatives under freedom of information law and first reported by the Scottish Mail on Sunday. Since November, there have been six attempts to access Pornhub, six for Betfair and four for Paddy Power on Scottish government devices. Officials said Netflix use was so prolific that discovering how many times it had been viewed would not be cost-effective. The revelations come after Michael Matheson, then an SNP minister, chalked up an £11,000 bill on his
Scottish Sun
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Civil servants watch porn & Netflix on SNP government laptops ‘while WFH'
The number of times staff tried to view porn sites has been revealed SOME of Scotland's civil servants have been watching Netflix and accessing porn websites on their official government laptops, new figures reveal Government staff - most of whom were working from home - have streamed their favourite Netflix shows so many times in the past six months that officials say the number of attempts to log onto the streaming channel is too high to calculate. 3 Civil servants have tried to view porn and Netflix on Scottish Government laptops while working from home Credit: Alamy 3 Figures revealed staff were trying to stream shows on Netflix Credit: Alamy Since November, there have been six attempts to access Pornhub, six attempts to access Betfair and four attempts to access Paddy Power on Scottish Government devices, the Mail on Sunday reports. The shocking figures emerged days after a row over a new drive to get Scottish civil servants back into the office. First Minister John Swinney said he approved of making officials work at least two days at their desks to boost productivity. However the plan for an average 40 per cent attendance provoked a backlash from staff working from home. The latest revelations follow Health Secretary Michael Matheson having to resign after he racked up an £11,000 bill on his work iPad while abroad on a family holiday - and charged it to the public purse, before he resigned his position and agreed to pay it back. The latest revelations have been blasted by critics who said staff should be 'sacked' if caught accessing porn on government devices. Benjamin Elks, of the TaxPayers' Alliance said: 'Scottish taxpayers will be rightly disgusted to see what their civil servants have been up to. 'It's clear that these pen-pushers have too much time on their hands as they work at home, failing to deliver for hard-working Scots. 'Anyone caught using government devices to access pornography should be sacked without hesitation.' The new statistics, obtained by the Scottish Conservatives, follow public backlash over the number of civil servants still working from home despite the pandemic ending years ago. Netflix to rival ITV's The Fortune Hotel as it launches brand new game show with an eye-watering prize Some workers have been told they only need to attend their offices one day a week, although the official expectation is for them to attend for two. The work from home culture has had a major impact on the vitality of town centres, with many shops, bars and restaurants reliant on trade from office workers. A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'Any attempt to access, download, display, store or distribute pornographic, racist or other offensive material, or material relating to illegal activities is considered a disciplinary matter, as outlined in the Scottish Government's IT Code of Conduct. 'Action is taken in line with Scottish Government disciplinary policy where concerns are identified. 'Scottish Government staff can use devices for personal use if this is within their own time, for example during the weekend or a lunch break. 'This is subject to restrictions on certain activities such as running a personal website or attempting to access inappropriate material online. 'The Scottish Government has in place recruitment and workforce controls to reduce its workforce size.'
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Netflix, porn and gambling websites viewed on civil servants' laptops as majority continue to WFH
Civil servants have been watching Netflix and accessing porn websites on their SNP government-issued laptops, the Mail on Sunday can reveal. Government staff - most of whom were working from home - have streamed their favourite Netflix shows so many times in the past six months that officials say the number of attempts to log onto the streaming channel is too high to calculate. On sixteen occasions civil servants have visited the x-rated Pornhub sex site and online betting sites Betfair and Paddy Power on their government devices, new data shows. The shocking figures emerged days after a row over a new drive to get Scottish civil servants back into the office. First Minister John Swinney said he approved of making officials work at least two days at their desk to boost productivity. However the plan for an average 40 per cent attendance provoked a backlash from staff working from home. The bloated devolved civil service - which has grown by more than 70 per cent since 2016 - is now costing the the taxpayer over £600 million a year. It was recently revealed local government staff were working from far-flung locations including the United Arab Emirates and eastern Europe. The latest revelations follow Health Secretary Michael Matheson having to resign after he racked up an £11,000 bill on his work iPad while abroad on a family holiday - and charged it to the public purse, before he resigned his position and agreed to pay it back. Last night critics said taxpayers would be appalled by civil servants' use of their official laptops and devices. Scottish Conservative MSP Annie Wells said: 'Hard-pressed Scottish taxpayers will be furious and appalled to learn they are footing the bill for civil servants to access dodgy websites and watch Netflix. 'What does it say about the culture within the SNP government that staff think it's okay to use a work device to watch pornography or place a bet? 'Scots are paying the highest rates of income tax in the UK to support the SNP's growing army of civil servants while our public services worsen, and yet this is what some civil servants are choosing to spend their time on.' Benjamin Elks, of the TaxPayers' Alliance added: 'Scottish taxpayers will be rightly disgusted to see what their civil servants have been up to. 'It's clear that these pen-pushers have too much time on their hands as they work at home, failing to deliver for hard-working Scots. 'Anyone caught using government devices to access pornography should be sacked without hesitation.' Figures obtained under freedom of information laws lay bare the number of times civil servants in Scotland have used government-issued devices to access inappropriate websites. Records show there were at least 16 attempts to access pornography and gambling websites on taxpayer-funded devices in the past six months. Since November, there have been six attempts to access Pornhub, six attempts to access Betfair and four attempts to access Paddy Power on Scottish Government devices. Officials refused to share how many attempts there were to watch Netflix by civil servants, saying it would cost more than £600 to sort through the number of the attempts. In response to a freedom of information request, it said: 'While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information for Netflix as requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600… the Netflix dataset was too large and included too many duplicate entries to sort within a reasonable time frame and within the applicable cost limit.' The new statistics, obtained by the Scottish Conservatives, follow public backlash over the number of civil servants still working from home despite the pandemic ending years ago. Some workers have been told they only need to attend their offices one day a week, although the official expectation is for them to attend for two. The work from home culture has had a major impact on the vitality of town centres, with many shops, bars and restaurants reliant on trade from office workers. Even First Minister John Swinney has said Scotland's Permanent Secretary should 'go further' in getting employees back to work. Meanwhile Scotland's bloated public sector is costing the taxpayer over £600 million a year, double the bill charged eight years ago. The devolved civil service workforce also stood at more than 9,000 last year – a 71 per cent rise since 2016. Staff at one Scottish council have been working from countries as far away as the United Arab Emirates, sparking questions about their tax affairs and other working arrangements. A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'Any attempt to access, download, display, store or distribute pornographic, racist or other offensive material, or material relating to illegal activities is considered a disciplinary matter, as outlined in the Scottish Government's IT Code of Conduct. 'Action is taken in line with Scottish Government disciplinary policy where concerns are identified. 'Scottish Government staff can use devices for personal use if this is within their own time, for example during the weekend or a lunchbreak. This is subject to restrictions on certain activities such as running a personal website or attempting to access inappropriate material online. 'The Scottish Government has in place recruitment and workforce controls to reduce its workforce size.'
The National
09-05-2025
- Health
- The National
Expert sought to review MSP complaints after Tories 'put process in disrepute'
It comes around one year after MSPs voted to sanction former health secretary Michael Matheson after he lied about an iPad roaming bill of around £11,000, racked up by his family watching football in Morocco. Matheson had initially tried to charge the taxpayer for the bill, claiming it had been accrued while doing official work, but was later forced to admit his deception and resign from government. MSPs then supported a motion sanctioning Matheson – who was suspended from sitting as an MSP for 27 days and lost 54 days of salary – but that motion also criticised Tory MSPs for the way the complaints process had been handled. Former health secretary Michael Matheson charged the public £11,000 for an iPad roaming billHolyrood's Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee had reviewed the case and decided on the punishment to be recommended – but Conservatives Stephen Kerr and Annie Wells both made public statements on the case while they were supposed to review it in an unbiased manner. Kerr resigned his position due to the public pronouncements, but Wells remained in place. The motion agreed by MSPs said that Wells had run 'the risk of the committee report being open to bias and prejudice and the complaint being prejudged, thereby bringing the Parliament into disrepute'. It further called on the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) to 'initiate an independent review of the Parliament's complaints process to restore integrity and confidence in the Parliament and its procedures'. That motion was passed in May 2024, and the SPCB has now begun advertising for someone to take on the review. READ MORE: All jobs lost and students in limbo after Scottish arts college collapses suddenly The parliament said that the review is 'expected to equate to up to 40 days' work for the successful applicant', and that the SPCB is looking to appoint a suitable expert before summer recess. The outcome of the review will be a report to the SPCB by the end of 2025. A Scottish Parliament spokesperson said: 'The Parliament instructed the SPCB to undertake an independent review of the complaints process. 'The focus will be on the process for recommending and agreeing sanctions on MSPs. 'The SPCB has today advertised for a suitably qualified expert to carry out the review. 'The expectation is the role should be no more than 40 days' work for the successful applicant.' Applicants have until May 29 to submit a quotation for the work as well as supporting documents.
