John Swinney was asked to defend under-fire Michael Matheson NINE times in 10 minutes as the SNP’s campaign launch was overshadowed by the iPad roaming bill scandal.
The Perthshire MSP spent much of the launch in Edinburgh explaining why he opposes the former health secretary’s suspension.
Earlier on Thursday, a Holyrood committee recommended Mr Matheson is barred from Holyrood for 27 days and has his pay docked.
The Falkirk MSP racked up £11,000 on a parliamentary iPad while his sons watched football during a family holiday in Morocco and tried to charge it to the taxpayer.
At First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, Mr Swinney stunned rival MSPs by claiming the investigation had been “prejudiced”.
He tried to turn the tables on Tory MSP Annie Wells, who had publicly criticised Mr Matheson’s excuses for the iPad bill.
Mr Swinney claimed parliament could be brought into “disrepute” if his SNP colleague and “friend” is given a lengthy ban.
Just hours later Mr Swinney tried to shift the focus onto independence and getting rid of the Tories in a last-minute press conference just one mile from Holyrood.
But he found himself bombarded with a series of questions from nine different journalists for backing Mr Matheson.
The first minister – just weeks into the job – refused to be drawn on whether Mr Matheson should be allowed to stay on as an MSP.
He described the veteran former SNP minister as a “good man who made mistakes”.
Mr Swinney said: “Parliament’s got to make sure it does things the proper way.
“I simply set out to parliament the risks that I thought parliament was taking.”
The campaign event, hosted in an Edinburgh hotel, was quickly put together with Mr Swinney frantically racing through questions.
Rishi Sunak announced the election on Wednesday afternoon during a torrential downpour outside 10 Downing Street.
The Tory leader then embarked on a whistlestop tour of the UK as he tries to claw back Sir Keir Starmer’s polling advantage.
Polling in Scotland has indicated Labour could make sweeping gains from the SNP on July 4 when voters go to the polls.
Swathes of the country – including key seats in Fife – could go red again after years of the nationalists dominating.
But Mr Swinney denied it had been a chaotic start to the campaign for his party in an attempt to maintain an upbeat mood.
“I think it’s been a great day,” he said.
“It’s got off to a great start.”
What did Michael Matheson do and how did parliament respond?
Michael Matheson’s £11,000 data roaming charges were incurred on December 28, 2022, and January 2, 2023, when his sons were watching football games on his parliamentary device in Morocco.
The former health secretary tried to bill the taxpayer.
When the scandal became public, he said he would pay the full charge.
Mr Matheson claimed he did not know his children were watching football.
A Holyrood probe found Mr Matheson should be suspended for breaching the code of conduct for MSPs.
In a report on Thursday, they recommended he is barred from parliament for 27 days and said he should lose 54 days of pay.
Mr Swinney stood by Mr Matheson, claiming the Holyrood investigation was “prejudiced” because of comments by his rivals.
The full parliament will now be asked to endorse the sanctions.
The SNP does not have a majority in parliament, meaning it could be difficult for the party to win a vote.
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