Alex Salmond accused of appalling lack of transparency over Rupert Murdoch deal

ALEX Salmond has been criticised for failing to tell a Holyrood inquiry he had offered Sky TV "exclusive" broadcast rights for Scottish Homecoming event the Gathering.

Mr Salmond was summoned to give evidence to the Scottish Parliament's public audit committee's inquiry into the Gathering, which took place in Edinburgh in July 2009 and saw the private company running the event collapse with debts of 516,000.

Yesterday, Martin Hunt, one of the creditors, who is still owed 10,000 by the event organisers, told The Scotsman the First Minister's failure to disclose to the inquiry his offer of free coverage and hospitality to the media tycoon was "appalling".

Mr Murdoch and Sky TV declined the SNP leader's invitation to cover the event.

Hugh Henry, the Labour chairman of the public audit committee, said Mr Salmond's decision not to tell MSPs about his attempt to secure a deal with Sky was "unfortunate".

He accused the First Minister of trying to make "private deals" and said: "It is very much in the style of a First Minister with a cavalier attitude, prepared to cut corners and pursue his own personal agenda."

Mr Henry said that, during the Gathering inquiry, there had been "major issues about cashflow, and income from broadcasting was a significant factor". It led to a damning report about the SNP government's role in supporting the event.

Yesterday's criticism of Mr Salmond followed the publication of a raft of documents that showed the First Minister had asked Mr Murdoch to be his "guest of honour" at the Gathering, which the SNP administration propped up with a taxpayer-funded loan of 180,000.

The First Minister conceded that the loan given from the public purse to The Gathering Ltd should have been publicised more widely, when he gave evidence to the inquiry last year.

Mr Hunt, of Edinburgh-based public relations firm Tartan Silk, said Mr Salmond had shown a "lack of transparency" in not telling the inquiry about the "commercial benefits" he suggested Sky would gain from covering the event.

He said: "It was absolutely paramount that Mr Salmond raised this issue during the inquiry and he should have volunteered it without needing to be asked. He showed an appalling lack of transparency by not telling the inquiry that he had made this offer of exclusive coverage."

Mr Henry said the First Minister had shown a "cavalier attitude" by keeping secret the offer of TV rights he had made to Mr Murdoch.

He said: "It is unfortunate that the public audit committee was never made aware of this connection when it was undertaking its investigation. There were major issues about cashflow, and income from broadcasting was a significant factor."This sudden exchange of correspondence does not surprise me. It is very much in line with what we discovered about the way Alex Salmond operates, doing private deals, and personally trying to sell the company behind the back of those who owned it."

Labour MSP Sarah Boyack said: "It is clear the First Minister was desperate to gift the commercial rights to Sky."

A spokesman for Mr Salmond said: "As Hugh Henry must know, it was actually discussed at the public audit committee at the time that the Gathering as a private company had been looking for a broadcaster to buy TV rights and thus generate more revenue."