Video: Alex Salmond at news conference at Bute House

First Minister Alex Salmond has backed Nicola Sturgeon in the row over a letter she wrote in support of a Glasgow man who committed benefits fraud, but has refused to say if convicted fraudsters should avoid jail.

The MSP wrote a letter of support for dad-of-five Abdul Rauf after he defrauded £80,000 from the Department of Work and Pensions. In it she urged the sheriff to consider a non custodial sentence.

At a news conference in Bute House in Edinburgh, Mr Salmond took only a handful of questions and refused to say if he supported Ms Sturgeon's decision to write the letter and repeatedly refused to answer the question of whether convicted fraudsters should go to jail in Scotland.

The First Minister claims that it is common practice for MSPs to make such representation on behalf of their constituent but refused to disclose any examples ahead of First Minister's Questions.

He faced claims from the press that the news conference was organised at the 11th hour to deflect attention away from the row engulfing his deputy. He insisted the decision to hold it today was taken after consultation with cabinet colleagues on Tuesday.

Mr Salmond said: "I fully support Nicola Sturgeon, constituency members of parliament have an obligation to represent their constituents. 

"I fully support Nicola Sturgeon. This is not a matter connected to her role as Deputy First Minister, it is an obligation for MSPs to take forward their constituent's cases. 

"It is the right of an MSP to choose to make representation to the court. It is then the responsibility of the court to determine the disposal."

The row continued at a stormy session of First Minister's Questions at the Scottish Parliament, with Mr Salmond facing a call from Iain Gray to sack Ms Sturgeon.

Mr Gray raised the subject by asking whether he thought Mr Rauf should go to prison, Mr Salmond replying that it was not appropriate for him to comment on a live case before sentencing, and adding that MSPs have an absolute obligation to take on a case as specified in the MSPs code of conduct.

Mr Gray maintained that it was a case of judgement, and called for other MSPs who would have written the same letter for the same man and the same crimes to raise their hands, and questioned where the First Minister would draw the line on providing such a  letter.

The First Minister went on to list other times that MPs provided such references, including Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Watch exchange between Alex Salmond and Iain Gray >

Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie continued to pursue the issue, and although not calling for her resignation she said many questions must be answered if Ms Sturgeon was to retain the confidence of the parliament.

She sought clarification on whether it was a constituency issue or a government issue, as government officials were involved in helping Ms Sturgeon, and asked if Ms Sturgeon planned to make a statement to the  parliament.

The First Minister said that it was a constituency issue, but that government staff had been involved because the call was for her resignation as Deputy First Minister, and that it was therefore proper for the minister to be defended by government spokespeople.

Watch exchange between Alex Salmond and Annabel Goldie >

Rauf appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Wednesday and the letter was handed over to Sheriff Alan MacKenzie in his defence.  The 59-year-old was due to be sentenced but the matter was deferred so that he could sell one of his properties and pay some of the money back.

He failed to declare property in Newington, Edinburgh, worth £200,000 on his application for income support. Rauf, who also has a £400,000 house in an upmarket Glasgow suburb, was receiving £650 a month in rent while he claimed the benefits over a five-year period.

At an earlier hearing, Rauf admitted defrauding the money from the Department of Work and Pensions between 2001 and 2006. The court heard that Rauf, who was jailed for four years in 1996 for fraud, filled out an application form for income support in October 2001.

Rauf's lawyer, Donald Findlay, handed the MSP's letter over to the sheriff and said that this was the first time in his career he had handed over a letter from someone of such importance.

In her letter of support Ms Sturgeon said: "Mr Rauf has accepted his wrong doing and has experienced the consequences of it through the effect on his health, the distress caused to his family and the impact on his standing in his community.

"He has advised me that he has already paid "£27,000 of the outstanding balance owed to the Department of Work and Pensions and has said since he first sought my advice that he will sell his property in Edinburgh to settle the remaining balance."

It continued: "He and his wife are anxious that a custodial sentence may be imposed by the court and of the effect this will have on Mr Rauf's health and the impact on family life.

"I would appeal to the court to take the points raised here into account and consider alternatives to a custodial sentence."

Read the text of the letter in full here >

Sheriff MacKenzie told Rauf that a jail sentence was "at the forefront" of his mind and deferred sentencing for three months.

However, Rauf's lawyer said that Ms Sturgeon was just doing her job.

Speaking to STV News, Rauf's solicitor Matthew Berlow said: "Nicola Sturgeon wrote the letter in her capacity as an MSP, not as a minister.

"This type of letter is not uncommon. I don't understand why there is such a 'hoo ha' about it. The sheriff wouldn't be swayed by who wrote a letter. He would make his own decision. Everyone has a job to do. Nicola Sturgeon has done her job, I've done my job and the sheriff will do his job. No one has done anything wrong.

"Clearly it's coming up for election time and everyone is on their high horse looking for a story. It's no big deal."

Watch video of interview with Matthew Berlow >

The row over the Ms Sturgeon's letter is the second time that the the SNP have found themselves under scrutiny in a matter of days, following a demand for a probe into a party fund-raising auction for a lunch at Holyrood.