Michael Matheson resigned as health secretary in February
Holyrood’s standards committee also recommended the SNP MSP should not be paid his salary for 54 days.
Commenting on news that the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee has recommended excluding Michael Matheson Dumbarton MSP and Scottish Labour Deputy Leader Jackie Baillie said “This damning ruling is yet another sorry chapter for an SNP government collapsing under the weight of its own sleaze.
“Michael Matheson has treated the public with contempt and the upper echelons of the SNP closed ranks to try and protect him, putting the party interest before the national interest.
“It cannot be right that an MSP can ride roughshod over the rules without the public getting a chance to boot them out – Scottish Labour would introduce a Right to Recall as part of our plans to clean up Holyrood.
“This chaotic and scandal-hit SNP cannot deliver for the people of Scotland.
“Scotland needs change – both Westminster and in Holyrood – and Scottish Labour is ready to deliver it.”
The proposals will now be voted on by parliament.
The iPad charges, which were initially paid out of the public purse, were incurred during a family trip to Morocco in late 2022.
Mr Matheson, who resigned as health secretary in February, had been found in breach of MSPs code of conduct by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB).
Mr Matheson initially said he had used the iPad solely for constituency work while on holiday, but later told parliament his sons had used it as a wifi hotspot to watch a Rangers vs Celtic football match.
He apologised and paid back the bill in full. Mr Matheson previously said he would not step down as an MSP.
His constituents are unable to force a by-election by recalling him – as would be the case for an MP being suspended for more than 10 days at Westminster.
Labour MSP Martin Whitfield, the committee convener, said the sanction reflected the seriousness of Mr Matheson’s breach of the MSP code of conduct.
“Had it not been for mitigatory factors, including the impact on the member and his family, the sanctions proposed would likely have been greater,” he said.
The suspension of 27 sitting days was recommended by committee member MSP Annie Wells. It was supported by Conservative colleague Oliver Mundell.
SNP members Jackie Dunbar and Alasdair Allan disagreed, with Mr Allan describing it as “extremely high” compared to sanctions in previous cases.
The deciding vote was made by the committee convener Mr Whitfield.
He said: “I did not cast my personal view in favour of the option but, in my capacity as convener, recognising that the committee would otherwise not have been in a position to make a recommendation, I supported the proposal for exclusion of a period of 27 sitting days.”
The committee was unanimous in recommending the withdrawal of salary for 54 calendar days.
The ruling came after Mr Matheson was found to have breached clauses of the MSP code of conduct which say members must “abide by the policies” of the SPCB and that “no improper use should be made of any payment or allowance made to members for public purposes”.
The SPCB – which made no recommendations about potential punishment – said its full report would be published after the committee’s announcement.
Mr Matheson cited the SPCB report when he quit cabinet in February after more than nine years as a cabinet minister.
This is one of the toughest punishments ever handed out in the Scottish Parliament. Interestingly, the withdrawal of 54 days worth of salary equates roughly to the amount of the data roaming bill at the heart of the row.
One of the four MSPs who sits on the standards committee has herself been banned from Holyrood in the past.
Conservative Annie Wells received a week long suspension in 2018 after commenting on an embargoed report about prisoner voting.