ALEX Salmond yesterday denied he had made a "subtle" bargain with the Murdoch empire to back its £8 billion BSkyB bid in return for support from The Sun.
However, the First Minister admitted he told Rupert Murdoch's son, James, he would lobby UK ministers on the deal before the tabloid backed the SNP.
During a highly anticipated appearance at the Leveson Inquiry into press standards, he said he had asked James Murdoch to intercede to ensure the paper's board in London did not veto the decision to support his party. But Mr Salmond denied there had been any deal with the media mogul and his companies.
Challenged he had "subtly" made it clear he would support the BSkyB deal in exchange for the support, Mr Salmond denied the charge. "No," he said "there was no quid pro quo."
Last night Labour said his evidence showed the First Minister was prepared to be at the Murdochs' "beck and call".
Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont said: "The First Minister's evidence to the Leveson Inquiry was embarrassing to Scotland in what he said, and the way he said it."
The First Minister was dragged into the Leveson Inquiry earlier this year when an email appeared to show he was willing to lobby Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, then in charge of the BSkyB deal, whenever the Murdochs asked.
In the email, News Corp lobbyist Fred Michel told James Murdoch he had met with Mr Salmond's adviser, Geoff Aberdein, adding: "[Mr Salmond] will call Hunt whenever we need him."
Mr Salmond told the inquiry he had agreed to lobby for the bid, but said he had only done so because it would be good for jobs for Scotland. And he insisted he had not done anything wrong, because, unlike Mr Hunt, he was not acting in a quasi judicial role on the decision.
He added: "I hope and believe these emails suggest I can deal with people in a proper businesslike and cordial manner and that's what I seek to do."
Mr Salmond also announced at the inquiry that Mr Aberdein had been cleared of accusations of wrongdoing over his meetings with Murdoch executives, following an official inquiry by Scotland's top civil servant.
The First Minister also denied leaking the date of the independence referendum to the Murdoch media empire.
Earlier this year, the first-ever Sunday edition of The Scottish Sun led with reports naming October 18, 2014, as Scotland's day of destiny. Mr Salmond confirmed the date was one of a number under consideration, but he said that would have been possible to guess from other factors.
The First Minister told Leveson Rupert Murdoch has always insisted his editors were the people to approach about an endorsement. But Mr Salmond denied ever asking the media mogul outright for backing. "I would have said 'I take it I have to go to the editors to get support, something like that'," he said.
He insisted he had always been told it was the editors who decided the editorial stance. But he admitted he had called Mr Michel to ask him and James Murdoch to intercede after The Sun's Scottish editor told him he wanted to come out for the SNP.
Mr Salmond denied he asked Mr Murdoch to smooth the path for the endorsement, insisting he just wanted to ensure there would be no London "veto".
Challenged that it was well known Rupert Murdoch took a keen interest in The Sun's political position, Mr Salmond replied: "Naively or otherwise I took very seriously the message to approach the editors first".
The SNP leader also told the inquiry his relations with the Murdoch empire had not always run smoothly. He said that in the run-up to the 2007 Holyrood election, then Sun editor Rebekah Brooks had asked him if he knew who might be the best person "to pursue the case against the SNP and independence".
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