Exclusive
Scottish health secretary confirms he was in Oasis ticket queue while chairing Alzheimer's panel
4 September 2024, 13:11 | Updated: 4 September 2024, 21:50
Scotland's health secretary Neil Gray has confirmed he was in the Ticketmaster queue for tickets to Oasis' Live '25 tour while he was chairing a panel on Alzheimer's at the SNP conference.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
On Monday, Mr Gray took to social media to rubbish a newspaper’s claims he was trying to buy tickets in the meeting, branding them "total nonsense".
However, the health secretary has now told LBC he remained in the queue throughout the panel discussion."Like most people on Saturday, I think everybody was in a queue," he exclusively told LBC.
He continued: "I was trying to get on to Ticketmaster all morning, but my phone was in my pocket and I made a passing a joke about being 'half the world away' from being able to get any tickets."
Read more: Oasis hit with 450 complaints over 'misleading pricing' for comeback tour
According to the Sunday Mail, Mr Gray looked up from his phone after a speech on medical advances in fighting dementia and said: "I'm in the queue to buy Oasis tickets... on multiple devices.
"Hope is very important... that I get these tickets.
"The paper's political editor John Ferguson stood by his report, saying he had checked with Mr Gray's press team before the story was published.
LBC asked the Scottish health secretary whether his team got it wrong or lied.
"I was in the queue and anybody that understands how being a queue for tickets works, it wasn't something that was fast moving," he replied.
"So my phone was in my pocket, there was progress made in this queue dispersing.
"I didn't actually end up getting on to Ticketmaster, such was the demand for tickets. But no, I was fully focused at the meeting, on hearing and chairing the discussion on an inspiring area of policy development that's happening here in Scotland and I was fully focused on that and both participants and the panel would be.
"Obviously, it was a flippant remark. It was based after another panel member, in introductions, had made reference to Oasis tickets and I had made a passing joke.
"Neil Gray was appointed to the top Scottish health job after his predecessor, Michael Matheson, resigned for trying to claim an £11,000 iPad data roaming bill on his government expenses.
