The Aporia · Now MSP blames blundering committee performance on 'chest infection'

Now MSP blames blundering committee performance on 'chest infection'

Read the original at Daily Mail ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Howarth, M. (2026, September 25). Now MSP blames blundering committee performance on 'chest infection'. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16161073/Now-MSP-blames-blundering-committee-performance-chest-infection.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Collette Stevenson, an SNP MSP for East Kilbride, claimed her recent embarrassing gaffe during a Transport Committee meeting where she questioned whether Transport Scotland was a charity resulted from a chest infection affecting her concentration. In a Facebook post, Stevenson apologized and took a week off from Parliament to recover, criticizing the online backlash as "misogynistic bullying." The article highlights other recent blunders by SNP figures in Scottish committee meetings, including Secretary Stephen Flynn’s explanation for missing news about a ferry leak due to FaceTiming his children and Rural Affairs Secretary Gillian Martin’s lack of knowledge regarding government-owned crofting land.

Written by AI on 2026-09-25, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Collette Stevenson, an SNP member who has represented East Kilbride since 2021 and serves on the transport committee at Holyrood, faced ridicule after asking if Transport Scotland was a registered charity during a televised meeting. The incident occurred when Graeme Cook, director of Transport Scotland, clarified that it is not a charity but a national agency part of the Scottish government. Stevenson later posted on Facebook that her momentary lapse in questioning was due to a severe chest infection affecting her sleep and concentration. She took a week off work, following medical advice, to recuperate from both her illness and an asthma flare-up. Additionally, she accused critics of engaging in "misogynistic bullying," highlighting the challenges women face in politics when making honest mistakes.

Written for “MSP Blames Performance Issues On Illness” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Ridiculed MSP says chest infection and lack of sleep led to committee blunder Same event

BBC News

Hedges 0 of 14 claims Outlet record 68/100

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

1 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

Leans left

of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate

Publisher signals

69/100

Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Politics

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 8973 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)

2026-11-02

Inmates dob in their jailers: Female officer 'smashed' on vodka, sex tape claims and alleged staff drug busts engulf Victoria's prisons

2026-11-01

Angus Taylor blasts the Albanese government over release of convicted terrorist linked to alleged Bondi gunman: 'Not good enough'

2026-10-30

Bachelor star Sam Wood seeks bail after almost a month behind bars over alleged attack on wife Snezana while on holiday in Noosa

2026-10-27

Wheel of Fortune announcer Jim Thornton update: Witness who claims to have seen star in 'pedophilia' chatroom has still not been contacted by FBI

2026-10-27

Manhunt launched after murderer who buried victim's body beneath his home escapes from Tennessee prison

2026-10-27

'I can get a gun for 10 grand': Secretly recorded jail call played to Beau Lamarre-Condon murder trial

2026-10-26

Escalation in '$100,000 cocaine raid' that rocked Brighton: Ex-private schoolboy hit with two more charges as police allege drug debtors list found on phone

2026-10-13

Daily Mail journalist KARLEIGH SMITH confronts Snowtown serial killer James Vlassakis as he tastes freedom for the first time in 26 years: 'What do you have to say for yourself?'

2026-10-13

Sam Wood is moved to Queensland's most feared prison: 'Pretty boy' Bachelor's brutal new reality with 'the worst of the worst'

2026-10-08

Russian plague victim's grieving mother denies scientist daughter was infected after breaking test tube - as PPE-clad team disinfect her home

2026-10-04

Prison chief stands down over botched execution

2026-10-03

Tennessee prison chief who oversaw botched execution of Christa Pike resigns, governor announces

2026-09-25

Twisted teacher who started school FIGHT CLUB and encouraged children to attack each other is given shockingly lenient punishment

2026-09-22

Melbourne inmate vanished without trace while carrying his brother's coffin 150 days ago - and cops are still hunting him

2026-09-21

Magistrate blasts Melbourne marketing mum Christina Georgiou over 'despicable' $50,000 fraud: How a master's graduate with a drug debt ended up rorting Covid and flood relief schemes

2026-09-18

Female corrections officer fired and arrested over claims she sneaked her home cooked meals into jail to give to inmates

2026-09-18

Woke NYC mayor offers condolences after alleged murderer, 20, dies in custody... but makes NO mention of his disabled victim

2026-09-15

Infamous prisoner known for his 'stop snitching' slogan DISAPPEARS during transfer from one federal prison to another

2026-09-15

Charles Manson's 'right-hand man' dies in prison at 83 after his parole was blocked 8 times

2026-09-15

Jeffrey Epstein's suicide watch 'companion' insists paedophile financier DID kill himself after becoming 'defeated' in his final days

2026-09-07

The evidence Epstein did NOT kill himself: Lawyer and pathologist reveal details they claim indicate the paedophile WAS murdered in jail in new documentary

2026-09-06

Clarifications and corrections

Who wrote this

Mark Howarth

8 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

🔮 The euro might not let us in.

2026-10-31 · assertive framing · Hollywood star James McAvoy labelled 'absurd' after blaming Scots' alcohol issues on England

🔮 Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has suggested a future Labour manifesto could promise another in-out referendum on Brexit.

2026-10-15 · assertive framing · Kemi Badenoch hits out at both Andy Burnham and John Swinney as she demands end to 'endless' referendums

🔮 The Indian transgender activist was installed as a regional MSP in May without standing for election or knowing how long he would be allowed to remain in the country.

2026-10-09 · mixed framing · Controversial Green MSP Q Manivannan gets to stay... for now

🔮 Ministers are hiring a £60,000 brand manager for a quango that is set to be axed to save money.

2026-10-03 · assertive framing · Wanted: £60k a year PR guru to run SNP's forests quango... that faces axe to save cash

🔮 ‘We need meaningful progress on tackling Scotland’s abysmal waiting lists.’ May this year saw a new monthly record of 129,453 visits to A&E. SNP ministers have decreed that at least 95 per cent of patients should be dealt with within four hours, but the target has not been met since June 2020.

2026-09-20 · assertive framing · Now A&E crisis spreads to rest of NHS

🔮 A working group has drawn up plans to rejig the office, which will include new quiet spaces for ‘neurodiverse’ employees plus several ‘conversation pods’. However, disgruntled staff are complaining about ‘the reduction in the kitchen seating area’ and oppose the scrapping of a ‘well-being room’ even though it is barely used.

2026-09-19 · assertive framing · Public sector staff at £37million forestry quango bicker with bosses... over the size of their kitchen!

🔮 - See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source SNP ministers could be eyeing up Scotland’s livestock to tackle climate change. Rural Secretary Gillian Martin has warned ‘difficult decisions’ lay ahead regarding the £4.5billion industry that supports tens of thousands of jobs. The Scottish Government fears a review of the UK Government’s deeply unpopular ban on new petrol and diesel cars by 2035 could leave a hole in Scotland’s carbon budget that would need to be filled by other measures. It could see herds of cattle and flocks of sheep thinned in a bid to cut carbon emissions.

2026-09-18 · assertive framing · Could the SNP's eco zealots be coming for Scotland's cows?

Also by Mark Howarth

Hollywood star James McAvoy labelled 'absurd' after blaming Scots' alcohol issues on England

2026-10-31 · Daily Mail

Kemi Badenoch hits out at both Andy Burnham and John Swinney as she demands end to 'endless' referendums

2026-10-15 · Daily Mail

Controversial Green MSP Q Manivannan gets to stay... for now

2026-10-09 · Daily Mail

Wanted: £60k a year PR guru to run SNP's forests quango... that faces axe to save cash

2026-10-03 · Daily Mail

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 8 articles by Mark Howarth →

Topics

Daily Mail Holyrood Parliament SNP Transport Scotland

Subjects

Transport Scotland ORG · 10× Stevenson PERSON · 3× Parliament ORG · 2× SNP ORG · 2× Collette Stevenson PERSON · 1× Collette Stevenson’s PERSON · 1× Daily Mail ORG · 1× Graeme Cook PERSON · 1× Holyrood ORG · 1× Transport Committee ORG · 1×

Narrative

‘Whilst robust scrutiny is a necessary part of public life, the disproportionate abuse, mockery, and misogynistic bullying directed at me online following an honest mistake demonstrates the toxic culture women in politics still have to endure far too often.’

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-25

2026-09-25 · Daily Mail

Now MSP blames blundering committee performance on 'chest infection' · assertive framing

Claims (16 extracted, 1 hedged)

- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source An MSP who was ridiculed last week for asking whether government agency Transport Scotland was a charity has blamed her blunder on a chest infection. asserted

Scotland → see → infection

Collette Stevenson’s gaffe was embarrassingly exposed during a televised meeting of Holyrood’s Transport Committee, of which she is a member. asserted

she → expose → which

But now the SNP politician claims it was due to being ‘in the early stages’ of a chest infection which affected her concentration. uncertain

which → claim → concentration

In a social media post on Thursday, she said she had followed medical advice to stay away from Parliament for a week to recover and branded some of the criticism of her as ‘misogynistic bullying’. asserted

she → say → bullying

Ms Stevenson – who has been an MSP for five years – faced mockery following her exchange with Transport Scotland director Graeme Cook as he gave evidence to the committee. asserted

he → face → committee

She asked him: ‘I take it Transport Scotland is a registered charity?’ asserted

Scotland → ask → it

Collette Stevenson has broken her silence on the backlash to her Transport Scotland blunder Leaving her looking confused, Mr Cook responded: ‘Transport Scotland is a non-departmental government body. asserted

Scotland → break → her

Ms Stevenson’s discomfort sparked a rash of online barbs, imagining her believing that the Kingston Bridge linked Scotland with Jamaica and that the Glasgow Subway is a sandwich shop. asserted

Subway → spark → Jamaica

But on Thursday she broke her silence. asserted

she → break → silence

Writing on Facebook, she said: ‘During a recent committee evidence session, I experienced a momentary lapse in my questioning regarding the status of Transport Scotland. asserted

I → write → Scotland

I was in the early stages of a severe chest infection, which affected my sleep and, in turn, my concentration. asserted

which → affect → turn

‘On medical advice, and following a flare-up of asthma, I have taken this week off from Parliament to recuperate and allow the various medications to work.’ asserted

medications → follow → Parliament

She added: ‘As MSP for East Kilbride, I of course engage regularly and constructively with Transport Scotland – most notably and recently on the vital East Kilbride rail enhancement and electrification project. asserted

I → add → project

women → direct → politics

Transport Secretary Stephen Flynn told MSPs he didn’t know about a leak of flammable gas from a CalMac ferry because he missed the news as he was ‘FaceTiming my kids’. asserted

he → tell → kids

And Rural Affairs Secretary Gillian Martin didn’t realise that the government owns 10 per cent of crofting land. asserted

government → realise → land