THE First Minister is under pressure after he personally invited an energy company boss to become a member of an international business group. ScottishPower chair Ignacio Galan, whose firm pushed through a 19% increase in domestic gas charges, accepted alex Salmond s approach to join the GlobalScot Network. a Labour MP described the move as an embarrassment . ScottishPower, owned by Spanish-based Iberdrola, matched this year s gas hike with a 10% electricity price rise. The jump led to other members of the Big 6 power giants implementing similar changes. The move was criticised for risking plunging people into fuel poverty at the same time as maintaining the firms huge profits. Salmond called for a fuel summit to address the impact of the rises but stopped short of condemning individual companies. The First Minister has a close relationship with Galan, as ScottishPower is involved in various renewable projects north of the Border. Last year Salmond invited the Spanish businessman to become a GlobalScot. Labour MP Tom Greatrex said: alex Salmond s fixation with writing fawning letters is becoming a national embarrassment. a Scottish Government spokesman said Mr Galan is one of 750 GlobalScots, all of whom are written to by the First Minister. The appointment is made on the basis that they are senior business people who are bringing investment and jobs to Scotland .