Neil Gray admits he was ‘in the queue’ for Oasis tickets while chairing dementia fringe

Health secretary Neil Gray has confirmed he was “in the queue” for Oasis tickets while chairing a meeting at the SNP conference, despite branding a report earlier this week “total nonsense”.

Gray was chairing a panel discussion on Alzheimer’s at his party’s conference on Saturday, during which he admitted to delegates he was trying to get tickets.

The Sunday Mail published the story the following day, but Gray said on X it was “total nonsense” and that he “wasn’t trying to buy tickets in the meeting”.

Now he has confirmed to LBC that he was trying to get tickets for the reunion gig, but insisted his was “fully focused” on the meeting.

He said: “I was in the queue, and anybody that understands how being in a queue for tickets works, it wasn’t something that was fast-moving. My phone was in my pocket, there was progress getting made in this queue dispersing. I didn’t actually end up getting onto Ticketmaster, such was the demand for tickets.

“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. I was fully focused on that, and both participants and the panel will be able to confirm that.”

The health secretary was chairing an event on brain health research on Saturday lunchtime, speaking to a range of academics in the field about early detection, lifestyle changes and advanced medicine for dementia.

The Sunday Mail reported he had been looking at his phone during the meeting and told delegates was queuing “on multiple devices”.

Scottish Labour has said the event was a “painful summary of the SNP’s approach to the NHS”.

Deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “It might have seemed like a joke to Mr Gray but this shameful incident is a painful summary of the SNP’s approach to the NHS. While patients and staff wait for meaningful action from this government, they are met with distraction and incompetence.”