Scotland's first minister has been facing fresh controversy after allegations that constituency money was used to pay his secretary's hotel bill.

Jack McConnell has already sought to defend himself in the Scottish Parliament over irregularities in constituency accounts.

A full party investigation has been launched into the alleged misuse of funds in Motherwell and Wishaw with officials stressing that Mr McConnell had no responsibility for the accounts.

However, The Sun newspaper now reports that the first minister was asked to explain why his constituency party's development fund was used to meet hotel bills.

Christina Marshall attended the conference

The money was reportedly used to pay for rooms, for two nights, for himself and his then PA Christina Marshall at the Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh during the Scottish Labour Party conference in March 2000.

The Sun said local party officials first approached him about the bill after an annual meeting in February, at which concerns first surfaced about the accounts.

A spokesman for Mr McConnell said that expenditure on Ms Marshall's hotel costs had come from local party funds in the normal way and that there was absolutely no public money involved.

A spokesman said: "If the allegation is that the Scottish Labour Party paid for a member of the Scottish Labour Party who worked for a Scottish Labour Party minister to go to a Scottish Labour Party conference then we are intensely relaxed about it."

On Thursday, the first minister told MSPs he would allow "absolutely nothing" to undermine the status of his office and the Scottish Parliament.

'Full disclosure'

He stressed that he had no control over constituency party funds - and has promised to publish the outcome of an inquiry.

Mr McConnell was asked by the Scottish National Party leader, John Swinney, for "full disclosure" of the alleged irregularities.

Mr Swinney said it would reassure the public that there had been no breach of the ministerial code.

Scottish Labour has launched an inquiry after it emerged that a local party activist may have used party funds without authorisation.

Jack McConnell denied any wrongdoing

It was suggested that there may be an �11,000 black hole in Mr McConnell's constituency accounts.

In the parliament on Thursday, Mr Swinney asked Mr McConnell when he first became aware of the problem.

He asked: "If he has known about it since February as the media suggest - and his party now say it may be the subject of a criminal investigation - why did the first minister not report it to the police?"

Mr McConnell said it was inappropriate for him to comment too much as that might prejudice any future investigation.

But the SNP seized upon Friday's report in the Sun that Mr McConnell faced questions over elements of the accounts seven months ago.

The party said that appears to contradict the First Minister's Holyrood statement that he instigated an inquiry into the accounts three months ago.

Mr Swinney has written to Mr McConnell to ask him to explain the situation.

Labour said there is no discrepancy because Mr McConnell did answer questions at an earlier stage from local party auditors in his Motherwell and Wishaw constituency.

Mr McConnell then alerted Labour HQ when it became clear there was a problem.

Labour also stressed that constituency MP Frank Roy had no responsibility for the accounts.