Alex Salmond yesterday agreed to study the document that Skye Bridge campaigners have long claimed shows that tens of millions of pounds was illegally charged through tolls on the bridge.

Alex Salmond yesterday agreed to study the document that Skye Bridge campaigners have long claimed shows that tens of millions of pounds was illegally charged through tolls on the bridge.

After more than 10 years he is the first government minister to take their claims seriously enough to give such a commitment, which was hailed last night as a major step forward.

Mr Salmond made the commitment during a public question and answer question session, part of his government's national conversation, following the meeting of the Scottish Cabinet at Sabhal Mor Ostaig, Skye's Gaelic college.

It was the fourth and last meeting of the cabinet on summer tour which has already seen it convened in Dumfries, Inverness, and Pitlochry. Mr Salmon admitted to having had some concerns as to how the tour would be received, but it had been a "most fantastic success". It would be repeated next year at four different venues.

Veteran anti-tolls campaigner Robbie the Pict appealed to Mr Salmond and Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to take some time to study the document which was supposed to give the Skye Bridge operators the right to charge tolls. It was undated and unsigned.

"Yet it had been used to extort £33m from the road users and another £35m at least from the Scottish Budget. None of it should been taken." Robbie said millions and millions of pounds could be retrieved by the Scottish Government.

Mr Salmond said: "Robbie, I will look at your document, you have captured my attention."

Afterwards the First Minister explained to The Herald: "I am not holding a public inquiry (into the Skye Bridge). Public inquiries are for things like Stockline and the McKie case. And I am not going to instruct law officers how to do their business. We don't do that. We have a division of powers between us and the judiciary. But I will look at the document."

Robbie the Pict said he was very encouraged by Mr Salmond's response. "He is the first government minister who has agreed to do this and it is a big step forward. Privately I asked Mr Salmond to select somebody he trusted who would sit down with me for an hour. He said he would do so."

The document in question is officially entitled the assignation statement, which was supposed to assign the Secretary of State's right to collect tolls to the Skye Bridge Company. Official correspondence from 1995 released to The Herald under FOI showed that the Crown Office was aware it was not a "final document" before 130 people were convicted over non-payment of tolls.

Meanwhile Arthur Cormack, interim chair of Bord na Gaidhlig, asked ministers what government support might be available for the creation of stand alone Gaelic secondary schools in such places as Portree, Fort William and Barra where there was growing parental demand.

He said the progress in Gaelic-medium education was welcome but when it came to secondary, English once again became the default language of the school. Consequently there was a limit to the fluency which pupils could achieve.

Fiona Hyslop, the Education Secretary, said she was would study the outcome of Highland Council's consultation on the subject. But she suggested there would have to be evidence that Gaelic would grow as a result of such schools, that they would not simply mean transferring the same pupils to a new establishment.