Former health secretary Michael Matheson has said he will not resign as an MSP after he was found to have breached parliamentary rules.
Speaking to journalists for the first time since the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) issued its findings, he said he hopes Holyrood’s standards process will conclude “shortly”.
He made the comments upon leaving an SNP group meeting at Holyrood on Wednesday.
Asked if he would resign, he said “no”, adding: “As you know, there is a standards process at the moment and I’m going to respect the confidentiality of that process.
“I’m looking forward to the process being completed shortly.”
He did not respond to further questions from journalists.
Mr Matheson quit his Cabinet role in February following months of pressure over a near-£11,000 data roaming bill racked up on his parliamentary iPad during a family holiday to Morocco.
Earlier this month, the SPCB – the cross-party group of MSPs tasked with the running of Parliament – concluded Mr Matheson had broken the code of conduct for members over his handling of the bill, and referred his case to Holyrood’s Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee to consider sanctions.
The Tories have urged Humza Yousaf to remove the whip from the Falkirk West MSP, but the First Minister has said the former minister is a “decent person that made a mistake”.
Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday Show earlier this month, Mr Yousaf said: “There are MSPs that have made mistakes and they’ve had to face the consequences of those mistakes.
“I’ve not heard Michael say anything other than he’ll accept what those consequences are, and I’m sure he’ll accept whatever the parliamentary committee decides and deliberates on.”