Opposition politicians have called on Alex Salmond to “come clean” about an apparent offer to intervene with the UK Government as part of News Corporation’s bid to take over BSkyB
Labour, Tories and the Liberal Democrats hit out at the First Minister after an email from a senior figure at the company claimed Mr Salmond would would call UK Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt “whenever we need him to”.
During the Leveson Inquiry into press standards it emerged that News Corp’s director of public affairs, Frederic Michel, had emailed James Murdoch and said: “I met with Alex Salmond’s adviser today. He will call Hunt whenever we need him to.”
Labour leader Johan Lamont urged the Leveson Inquiry to call the First Minister as a witness as she hit out: “It seems all that mattered to Salmond was that he would support Murdoch in return for Murdoch’s papers supporting Salmond.”
Meanwhile Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie demanded the First Minister come to the Scottish Parliament to “explain his actions”, while former Tory leader David McLetchie accused him of “conduct unbecoming of a First Minister”.
Opposition politicians hit out after counsel to the Leveson Inquiry Robert Jay QC had asked Mr Murdoch if the email gave rise to the perception that favourable coverage of Mr Salmond in the Scottish Sun - which backed the SNP in last year’s Holyrood elections - meant the First Minister would be more willing to call Mr Hunt “whenever we need him to”?
Mr Murdoch, who stepped down as executive chairman of News International in February, replied: “No, if the insinuation is that there was any quid pro quo with editorial coverage versus a commercial agenda, I can tell you categorically that it’s false. There’s no connection.
“That was absolutely not News Corporation’s policy and I wouldn’t do business like that.”
The inquiry also heard an email was sent from Mr Michel to Mr Murdoch on March 2, 2011, saying: “Alex Salmond called. He had a very good dinner with the editor of the Sun in Scotland yesterday. The Sun is now keen to back the SNP at the election. The editor will make his pitch to the editorial team tomorrow.
“Alex wanted to see whether we could help smooth the way for the process.”
A spokesman for the First Minister said later that it was “total nonsense to suggest there was ever any quid pro quo offered by the Scottish Government over the BSkyB bid”.
But Ms Lamont said: “Now we know how Alex Salmond operates. The Leveson Inquiry has evidence that he and his adviser told senior News International executives that they would intervene with the Tory Government at Westminster to allow Rupert Murdoch and his son to get control of BskyB.
“The interests of viewers and the television industry didn’t come in to it.
“It seems all that mattered to Salmond was that he would support Murdoch in return for Murdoch’s papers supporting Salmond.”
She added: “This stinks. It is my hope that the Leveson Inquiry now calls Alex Salmond as a witness.”
The Labour leader went on: “No one should make any mistake. Salmond wasn’t acting in the interests of Scotland. He was making a deal with one of the most discredited companies in the world entirely in Alex Salmond’s interests.
“The First Minister claimed to have released all correspondence between himself and News International earlier this year. Now we know there were much more worrying conversations he is trying to keep quiet. He needs to come clean.”
Mr Salmond’s spokesman later said: “The First Minister has not corresponded with or spoken to Jeremy Hunt on the issue.”
On the issue of the BSkyB takeover, the spokesman said the First Minister had not publicly given a view on the matter.
He added that the First Minister could see no competition issues and that it was “an important issue for Scotland in terms of jobs”.
The spokesman said: “He would have been quite happy to express that view, had he been asked, but he wasn’t.”
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