Alex Salmond under fire over referendum date leak allegations Published on Thursday 1 March 2012 14:22 Alex Salmond has insisted that the date for the independence referendum has not been set. But Labour claimed at First Minister's Questions that Mr Salmond gave "the nod" for a newspaper story naming a date for the independence referendum. Leader Johann Lamont challenged Mr Salmond after the first edition of The Sun on Sunday claimed the vote would be held on 18 October 2014. News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch held talks with the First Minister yesterday. Ms Lamont claimed the SNP leader was "prepared to compromise the referendum for Sir Rupert." Mr Salmond said October 18, 2014 was a "possible date" for the independence referendum, but insisted the matter would not be decided until the close of a Scottish Government consultation - which he said had already received more than 3,000 responses. But Ms Lamont hit out: "For the sake of a front-page splash, the date was leaked before the consultation is completed, before this Parliament was told and before the people of Scotland have their say." She added: "We all know Sir Rupert ran with Sunday's story on the First Minister's nod." The Labour leader pressed the First Minister on the issue further, demanding: "Will he simply confirm what date he actually intends to hold the referendum? Just name the date. However the First Minister refused to give an exact date, saying: "We will have the consultation then we will announce the date, and it will be determined of course by this Parliament in the best interests of the Scottish people." The Labour leader challenged Mr Salmond on the matter at First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament today. She first asked him about the Leveson Inquiry, which is examining press standards. Ms Lamont argued it would be "naive" for those in Scotland to dismiss the issues it had raised as a "London problem that stops at the border." Mr Salmond said he supported the inquiry, but pointed out that when the Information Commission had highlighted "widespread malpractice across the press," there were "very few Scottish examples" of this. Ms Lamont then pressed him on The Sun on Sunday story on the referendum date. "The police are not the only people who leak stories to Rupert Murdoch," she said. The first edition of The Sun on Sunday revealed the date of the referendum, Saturday October 18 2014, citing a Government source. She asked: "Has the First Minister, who of course wrote a column in the paper's first edition, thought who might possibly have been the source of such a mutually-serving leak?" Ms Lamont also wanted to know: "What steps has the First Minister taken to determine the source of that leak?" The First Minister said that October 18, 2014 was a "possible date," adding: "We said it would be in the autumn of 2014. But we also said we are considering a Saturday as opposed to a Thursday to increase turnout. However, he added: "We're only a month into a three-month consultation." Mr Salmond said that the Government was "heading towards perhaps upwards of 10,000 responses" to its consultation on the referendum. He told Ms Lamont: "Once all these are in and analysed then we will announce what the date will be, not until after the consultation." However, the Labour leader said the Sun editor was standing by the date the paper had named. She said: "Despite what the First Minister said, the editor of the Sun says it is October 18 2014. He is so sure he told Twitter "See what odds you can get on it. We are right."" She then asked: "Is the First Minister saying the editor of the Sun is wrong?" Mr Salmond told her: "The First Minister is saying Johann Lamont is wrong."