Reliance took over the contract last month

Reliance Custodial Services said it was disappointed the information had been published in the Daily Record.

The company faces a �20,000 fine if it wrongly releases a prisoner, with a �25,000 penalty for a death in custody.

The Scottish Executive said it did not comment on leaks, but opposition parties are calling for a statement from ministers on the figures.

The Scottish National Party said Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson should address the Scottish Parliament to confirm or deny the newspaper claims.

Received request

Reliance took over court custody and prison escort services in the west of Scotland last month.

A series of high-profile errors sparked calls for the publication of the company's contract.

Information Commissioner Kevin Dunion ordered the Scottish Executive to publish details after receiving a request for the information from SNP justice spokeswoman Nicola Sturgeon.

On Thursday, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) released a 152-page version of the contract which did not contain information on the charges payable.

The financial terms of the contact are commercially sensitive and remain confidential Reliance spokesperson

An SPS spokesman said the contract had been published with the exclusion of items "deemed to be commercially or operationally sensitive".

However, the SNP demanded that the figures be made public.

On Saturday, the Daily Record published details of the penalties which would be faced by Reliance for breaching its contract.

It said there would be a �25,000 fine for every death in custody, a �20,000 fine for every prisoner freed in error and a �2 penalty for the late collection of a prisoner.

A spokesperson for Reliant said the firm was disappointed that confidential information had appeared in the newspaper.

"Reliance directors feel that the publication of such sensitive and confidential information is not in the best interests of the Scottish people and will do nothing to attract other private companies thinking of investing in Scotland," said the spokesperson.

Political pressure

"Reliance Custodial Services would reaffirm their contract with the Scottish Prison Service sets stringent performance targets for their prisoner escorting operation and the company faces severe penalties for not meeting these targets."

Management is understood to be furious about the leak, and company sources argued that ministers stood to gain from the move as it eased the political pressure.

The executive said it had no comment on the leak.

The document made public is 152 pages long

A spokesperson refused to be drawn on whether an inquiry would be held into how the Daily Record obtained the information, saying: "This is a matter for the SPS and Reliance."

A spokeswoman for the prison service said: "We have no comment."

On the issue of an inquiry, she said: "We will need to look at the article and see if there is any truth in it, but the SPS is not making any comment."

Ms Sturgeon said Ms Jamieson should "come clean" and make a full statement to parliament on the details of the contract.

"It is outrageous that it has taken a leak to put this information into the public domain," she said.

"The Scottish Executive should have been upfront about it in the first place because the public have a right to know."

'Very regrettable'

Annabel Goldie, the Scottish Tories' justice spokeswoman, voiced concerns about the leak.

"If people enter into a contract with the government there is a need for some commercial confidentiality," she said.

However, she did not take issue with the "fairly substantial" penalties faced by Reliance.

A Liberal Democrat spokesman said the row over the leak was "very regrettable".