STV and SNP face 'cash for shows' inquiry

THE broadcasting watchdog has launched an official investigation into STV over claims of a "cash-for-programmes" deal with the Scottish Government.

• Alex Salmond: Met STV's chief executive at the station's Glasgow headquarters. Picture: Greg Macvean

Ofcom will carry out a full probe into the channel's dealings with Scottish ministers after private letters revealed it had pledged to consider future programming decisions "for the benefit of the (Scottish] Government".

It emerged last night that, following talks, the Scottish Government had agreed to use 150,000 of taxpayers' money to sponsor a series of STV programmes designed to promote its "Homecoming" celebration.

At the same time, popular programmes, such as The Bill and Doc Martin, were removed from Scottish screens. The broadcaster also brought forward proposals for a "Scottish Six" news programme, similar to that favoured by the SNP administration.

After the revelations at the weekend, Ofcom launched preliminary inquiries. Yesterday, it confirmed it was to carry out a full investigation under Section 9 of the Broadcasting Code, which is meant to prevent "unsuitable sponsorship of programmes on radio and television".

The allegations of impropriety were dismissed by both the Scottish Government and STV when they first emerged. Yesterday, SNP sources claimed the regulator had no choice but to investigate the matter because of the media controversy it had caused.

The Scottish Government issued a full statement last night, saying it had "no influence in the making, content or scheduling of the programmes".

But opposition politicians described the issue as "sinister" and said there remained a series of unanswered questions about the tie-ups.

The close links between First Minister Alex Salmond and STV chief executive Rob Woodward were revealed following a request under freedom of information laws. Letters show that the two men had an "interesting and productive dialogue" at a meeting in January last year.

Topics discussed then included STV's hopes "to increase the amount of Scottish content" on screen, as well as the broadcaster's commitment to a "Scottish Six". The letters also show STV wanted to "forge a closer partnership" between ministers and its commercial sales team.

In a letter to Mr Salmond dated 9 January, Mr Woodward offers to "explore how we can incorporate our innovative thinking around television exposure for the benefit of the (Scottish] government".

The subsequent Homecoming programmes were sponsored by the Scottish Government. They included Made in Scotland, examining Scottish icons, Scotland Revealed, featuring the country's landmarks and Greatest Scot, a five-night special in the week before St Andrew's Day, when viewers were asked to vote for their favourite Scot.

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Murdo Fraser said last night: "The serious nature of these allegations has been underlined by the fact that Ofcom has launched an investigation. It would be unacceptable if the SNP government has being trying to use taxpayers' money to undermine the impartiality of STV."

He added: "Mr Salmond's attempts to manipulate the media for his own ends are well known, but if he has been using taxpayers' money to buy favour and influence, then that would be a serious breach of power."

Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray said: "Alex Salmond has serious questions to answer about the degree he was trying to manipulate the media. There are strict rules about government involvement in the media and Alex Salmond should not cross that line.

"The First Minister should not be able to wave public money in the form of sponsorship and advertising in front of a broadcaster and hope to influence content."

Mr Gray said among the questions the Scottish Government should answer was whether taxpayers' money was used to finance the removal of programmes such as The Bill. Both Labour and the Tories said they wanted to know whether ministers had any editorial input into the programmes and whether STV's backing for a "Scottish Six" had been influenced by SNP ministers.

However, the Scottish Government insisted there had been no editorial interference in programmes. Officials say ministers wanted simply to sponsor a series of programmes that were going to celebrate "all that is great about Scotland, its heritage, its culture and its people". They also claim the Homecoming programmes were STV's idea, not theirs.

A spokesman "warmly welcomed" the inquiry and said: "Of course, Ofcom are inquiring into STV rather than the Scottish Government, and we believe they have acted absolutely properly, as, indeed, has the government."

An STV spokeswoman said: "Ofcom is currently investigating some of our programming, and we welcome this investigation. We are confident that we have complied with all relevant broadcasting codes and guidelines."

A spokesman for Ofcom said: "We're looking into section nine of the code, which relates to sponsorship. The overall principle is to ensure editorial independence."