John Swinney has said the claims are “very significant” and has demanded Ross explains the expenses in detail.
Ross told the paper it was “not possible” to go from London to a football game as he would not have had his referee kit with him. While Swinney said he did not want to “jump to conclusions”, he told journalists in Paisley on Sunday: “The report in the Sunday Mail this morning about Douglas Ross allegedly using public funds to support his career as a football linesman raises very significant issues and I think Douglas Ross has got to set out all of the information about this particular issue.“I’m not going to jump to conclusions about people. I don’t know the details about this, but raises very, very significant concerns.
“These have all been agreed by IPSA, the independent body that oversees MPs expenses, but I would have no issue with them being scrutinised again.”We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.