ALEX SALMOND had a celebratory dinner at Bute House with The Sun newspaper journalists and executives following the SNP's election victory in May, leading to accusations he may have become too close to the Murdoch empire at a critical time.

He also had a series of meetings with senior News International executives – two with Rupert Murdoch, one with his son James, and one with Rebekah Wade when she was Sun editor – and an invitation was extended for Mr Murdoch to join Mr Salmond at the Ryder Cup in Kentucky in the US.

The Scottish Government produced the First Minister's diary since June 2007 – shortly after the SNP first took office – and supporting correspondence, claiming this was far more open than anything done at Westminster.

But Labour leader Iain Gray said the revelations that Mr Salmond met News International executives 25 times in the past four years showed that the First Minister had waged a "four-year campaign to seduce Rupert Murdoch and News International" for electoral support.

The event at Bute House was paid for by the SNP, and then The Sun, which switched from outright opposition to the SNP before the 2007 election to support for the party at May's election, bore the costs of another dinner at a Glasgow curry house.

Mr Gray said: "What is now clear is Alex Salmond has waged a four-year campaign since he became First Minister to seduce Rupert Murdoch and News International, which has included gifts. Not only is this unusual and highly questionable behaviour by Scotland's First Minister, but he has gone out of his way to meet News International executives not based in Scotland."

A spokesman for Mr Salmond said the focus of meetings with News International executives had been on "boosting jobs, investment and economic activity in Scotland".

The details revealed exchanges with Mr Murdoch's son James after a meeting in London in January. In the covering correspondence Mr Salmond wrote to James Murdoch: "I appreciated the opportunity to meet and thought our conversation on business opportunities for BSkyB in Scotland most useful."

Other letters show attempts to bring Rupert Murdoch to Scotland as guest of honour at the Gathering, the cultural celebration of the Year of Homecoming. The First Minister suggested it would be a great spectacle for coverage by Sky television.

The spokesman said the invitation to the 2008 Ryder Cup was part of a pre-arranged deal with the tournament's organisers and not an additional extra specifically for Mr Murdoch, who declined the invitation.

The SNP said just over a fifth of Mr Salmond's meetings with media executives over the past four years had been with News International, compared with 28.3% of Ed Miliband's and 35.5% of David Cameron's.

The diary also includes engagements with executives from other media organisations, including the BBC, STV, Express Newspapers and The Herald.

The spokesman said: "As the correspondence shows, our engagement with News International executives has been focused on boosting jobs, investment and economic activity in Scotland – exactly the same approach as we take towards all employers."