Alex Salmond has always claimed that his dealings with News International were all about jobs and inward investment for Scotland.
The emails that came to light at the Leveson inquiry yesterday paint that relationship in an entirely different light and leave the First Minister and his team with questions to answer.
The emails come from the computer of Frederic Michel, News Corporation's head of public affairs, and suggest that the First Minister had offered to lobby the UK Government in favour of News Corp's controversial bid to take control of satellite broadcaster BSkyB. One claims that Mr Salmond would call Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt about the matter "whenever we need him to". The communications also make clear the SNP leader's delight at the decision by the Scottish Sun to back the Nationalists in the Scottish Parliamentary elections of 2011.
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