The failure of the First Minister's diet plans is laid horribly bare in the latest information disclosure which shows him taking limousines several times a day, and regularly to his favourite curry house, the Raj restaurant in Edinburgh.

A spokesman for Mr Salmond admitted he was "a big fan of the brotherhood of naan" but insisted car use was no higher under the current administration than the last.

In his first six months in office, Mr Salmond used government limousines around 1700 times, and every journey is detailed in the latest official disclosure from the government.

Within his first few days in office, when he was staying at the Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh while the official residence Bute House was prepared for the transition from the McConnells to the Salmonds, the First Minister made regular trips to the Raj restaurant, to Hampden Park, and to television studios, setting a pattern for the next six months.

The 39 pages detail every official trip Mr Salmond made between May and November. On his trips to restaurants such as the Raj and the Indian Cavalry Club a spokesman said: "This is all a perfectly normal use of the government car service.

"The First Minister has to eat and he also frequently discusses issues over a meal with government colleagues. He's a big fan of the brotherhood of naan."

The spokesman also insisted that there was nothing untoward about a return trip Mr Salmond made from Bute House and SNP headquarters, a journey which could be deemed party political.

"The use of a government car in such circumstances is entirely proper," insisted a spokesman.

"On this occasion the FM left from Bute House following an official engagement to attend a party engagement and returned to Bute House to discuss and conclude outstanding business of the day with his private office team."

The spokesman added: "All Scottish Government ministers routinely undertake full days of ministerial meetings and events. Ministers do use public transport and walk to engagements wherever possible.

"However, the ministerial cars carry official government papers and ministers use car journeys to work on their papers and make confidential government phone calls. Ministers are making fewer car journeys than those made by the previous administration over a comparable time."