ALEX Salmond's top civil servant is under fire for enjoying a junket at a controversial men-only golf club ...

at the same time as it was being boycotted by the First Minister for giving the impression that women are "second-class citizens".

Newly released records reveal that the Scottish Government's Permanent Secretary, Sir Peter Housden, accepted hospitality at the final day of The Open Championship at Muirfield in July. The freebie was laid on by East Lothian Council and the tourism quango EventScotland.

A keen golfer, Housden is the figurehead for the 5000 staff at the Scottish Government, which has the declared aim of "working towards equality between both sexes as part of its equality agenda".

His attendance coincided with Salmond snubbing The Open because The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which runs Muirfield, does not admit female members, allowing women to play the course only as guests or visitors.

At the time, Salmond said the R&A, golf's governing body, should have pushed Muirfield to admit women as not doing so was "indefensible".

He said: "In the 21st century it's not a good message to suggest that women are second-class citizens."

Salmond pointedly attended the Scottish Open in Inverness the week before shunning Muirfield. It was left to Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing to drop in on the opening day of The Open on behalf of the Government.

Despite the clear signals from Salmond and a reputation for loyalty to the First Minister, Housden, Scotland's top mandarin since June 2010, chose to attend Muirfield.

He recorded the value of the day, which included breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, as "more than £30" in an official register. The full gate price for members of the public was £75, before food.

Labour equalities spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: "Alex Salmond has a long history of attending men-only clubs and many of us suspected his decision to boycott The Open was just posturing. The fact he let his right-hand man go in his place leaves him wide open to accusations of hypocrisy."

Conservative tourism spokesman Murdo Fraser added: "Sir Peter Housden is known for keeping very close to the First Minister.

"On this occasion he seems to have exercised an unusual degree of independence of action. I wonder what Mr Salmond will make of this outbreak of backbone?"

Housden is a keen golf fan. In his weekly updates to staff, which have gained a cult following for their banal anecdotes, he has described playing at Royal Burgess, Royal Dornoch, Royal Musselburgh, Duddingston, Gullane, Lothianburn and the Old Course at St Andrews.

He also said he marked the arrival of spring by cleaning his golf trolley, had learned "a whole new geometry of the swing", and referred to a game of golf featured in Marcel Proust's A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu.

A spokeswoman for East Lothian Council said the authority had received several Open hospitality invitations from EventScotland and invited Housden to meet council senior figures and representatives from local businesses. She said: "The main reason was to provide opportunities for networking."

A Government spokesman said: "The Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing attended The Open on behalf of the Scottish Government as a guest of the R&A. The Permanent Secretary also represented the Scottish Government as a guest of East Lothian Council."