First Minister Alex Salmond, who is appearing before the Leveson Inquiry into media standards, has said his phone was not hacked.

But Mr Salmond did reveal his personal bank account was accessed by The Observer newspaper in the run-up to the 1999 Scottish elections. Mr Salmond told the inquiry he was told about the newspaper's actions by a journalist on The Observer who had detailed information about recent purchases he had made.

The First Minister is expected to face questions under oath about his relationship with media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

Mr Salmond repeatedly refused to tell the Scottish Parliament whether he had been a victim of the scandal which led to the closure of the News of the World newspaper, part of Mr Murdoch's News Corporation media empire.

Opposition parties at Holyrood said the First Minister treated parliament with contempt by not answering to MSPs.

The First Minister's political opponents have also tried to put pressure on the SNP leader over his links to the Murdoch media empire.

The two men met on February 29 at Bute House, the First Minister's official residence in Edinburgh. On the agenda was News Corporation's "substantial economic footprint" in Scotland, the country's constitutional future and the Leveson Inquiry, one of Mr Salmond's spokesmen said at the time.

Mr Salmond insists he only had Scottish jobs in mind in his dealings with Mr Murdoch, rejecting suggestions it was to gain political support from The Sun newspaper.

The First Minister's judgment was also questioned by critics who say he is among the few to continue to "court" the tycoon after phone-hacking revelations linked to the family of Milly Dowler.

During the Leveson Inquiry it was suggested that Mr Salmond's office was prepared to intervene on behalf of Mr Murdoch and lobby UK Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt. At stake was Mr Murdoch's proposed takeover of broadcaster BSkyB. One of Mr Salmond's advisers, Geoff Aberdein, was named in March as the person making the lobbying offer.

In a session with News Corporation chief James Murdoch it emerged that the company's director of public affairs, Frederic Michel, emailed his boss to say Mr Salmond was prepared to intervene.

The email stated: "I met with Alex Salmond's adviser today. He will call Hunt whenever we need him to."

The Scottish Government said that News Corporation's consolidation of its ownership of BSkyB would have created the potential for increasing jobs in Scotland.

Labour business manager Paul Martin said: "The First Minister's appearance will offer an opportunity to set the record straight on his involvement with News International, reveal whether his own phone was hacked by the news organisation run by his friend and supporter, Rupert Murdoch, and explain what role his advisers played in lobbying UK Government ministers over the BSkyB deal."

Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie MSP said: "There are still many serious questions facing the First Minister. I hope that, under oath, we may finally get some answers from him. Mr Salmond must explain to the inquiry why he thought it was appropriate to put his desire for political support ahead of the interests of phone-hacking victims."

Conservative leader Ruth Davidson MSP said: "We need to know how deep the relationship is between these two men after they enjoyed tea and Tunnock's at the First Minister's residence in the wake of the shocking hacking revelations regarding murder victim Milly Dowler."