John Swinney issues declaration on under-fire health secretary Neil Gray

The First Minister has rebuffed calls to sack Neil Gray following a row over his use of ministerial cars to attend football games. Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay previously called the minister “dishonest, disgraced and distracted”.

Last week, Mr Gray apologised for an “inadvertent error” when he said notes were available for all the meetings he had attended at Aberdeen and Scotland games. This turned out not to be the case.

In November, Mr Gray, a Dons fan, said it was legitimate for ministers to attend sporting events and he would continue to do so.

However, he apologised after admitting he had given the impression of “acting more as a fan and less as a minister” and should have “attended a wider range of games”.

Asked if he could guarantee Mr Gray will still be health secretary by the autumn, Mr Swinney told journalists: “Yes.”

The First Minister has repeatedly defended the minister, insisting both he and Mr Gray are “entirely focused” on turning around performance in the NHS.

However, Mr Swinney previously accepted that when answering questions in Holyrood over his use of Scottish Government cars to travel to football matches, Mr Gray should not have said there were minutes available for all the meetings.

Mr Swinney conceded: “In one answer Neil Gray used one word he shouldn’t have used, the word ‘all’.”

But he said by coming to Parliament and informing MSPs about the error, he believed the health secretary had “acted entirely appropriately in his responsibilities to Parliament and in accordance with the ministerial code”.

Last week, Mr Findlay said: “In the real world, if people can’t do their jobs properly or don’t tell the truth, they get the sack. Is it not time for John Swinney to show some leadership by sending Neil Gray – in a chauffeur-driven limo if he likes – to collect his P45?”

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar also called for Mr Gray to go. He said: “The SNP’s record on the NHS is one of abject failure.

“Our NHS and care system is in permanent crisis and we have a Health Secretary that no-one has confidence in. He should be sacked for mismanaging our NHS, not just misleading this Parliament.”