91Èȱ¬

Former Health Secretary Michael Matheson has said he will not resign as an MSP after he was found to have breached parliamentary rules.

Mr Matheson said he was respecting the parliament's standards procedures but answered "no" when asked if he was going to step down.

He spoke when leaving an SNP group meeting at Holyrood earlier.

The Conservatives have urged the first minister to remove the whip from the Falkirk West MSP.

Speaking to journalists at Holyrood for the first time since the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) issued its findings, he said he hoped Holyrood's standards process would conclude "shortly".

Asked if he would resign, he answered "no", adding: "As you know, there is a standards process at the moment and I'm going to respect the confidentiality of that process.

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.

When details of the bill were first made public, he said the device had only been used for parliamentary work but he subsequently admitted that his sons had used the iPad as a data hotspot so they could watch football.

He has since paid back the bill in full and apologised.

Earlier this month, the SPCB - the cross-party group of MSPs tasked with the running of the Scottish Parliament - concluded that Mr Matheson had broken the code of conduct for members over his handling of the bill.

It referred his case to Holyrood's standards, procedures and public appointments committee to consider sanctions.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: "It's telling that, despite weeks of evading scrutiny, the only question he chose to answer was the one confirming that he won't do the decent thing and resign as an MSP.

"Throughout this whole sorry saga, self-interest and self-preservation have been his guiding principles. Nothing changes.

"Michael Matheson only found himself being door-stepped by journalists because Humza Yousaf lacks the backbone to remove the party whip from his disgraced colleague."

The first minister has resisted calls from opposition MSPs to remove the whip from Mr Matheson.

Appearing on 91Èȱ¬ Scotland's Sunday Show earlier this month, Mr Yousaf said Mr Matheson was a "decent person" that had "made a mistake" but said he should not have to stand down from his role as an MSP.

"There are MSPs that have made mistakes and they've had to face the consequences of those mistakes," he told the programme.

"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."