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Scottish Minister Blames $13K+ Government iPad Bill on His Kids

Michael Matheson’s sons apparently racked up the massive charges by watching soccer games.

Scotland’s health minister on Thursday explained a massive $13,600 mobile data charge to his parliamentary iPad by claiming his sons had used the device to watch soccer games while overseas. Michael Matheson said the bill, which was initially picked up by the Scottish Parliament, was incurred during a family vacation to Morocco last Christmas. Matheson originally insisted that he’d only used the iPad for governmental work but now claims he was only told last week about other family members using the device. He said he didn’t mention what his kids had done in a statement last Friday because he wanted to protect his children. “I am a father first and foremost—that was a mistake and I am sorry,” he said Thursday, adding: “The simple truth is they watched football matches.” Matheson said he will repay the bill in full himself.