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Spanish PM under pressure over texts
Spain's Mariano Rajoy is facing renewed calls to resign after a newspaper published text messages allegedly linking him to the man at the centre of a secret payments scandal.
The El Mundo report said Mr Rajoy sent words of support to Luis Barcenas, former treasurer of the governing Popular Party (PP).
Mr Barcenas is in custody facing trial for corruption and tax fraud. He denies the allegations.
Mr Rajoy, too, denies any wrongdoing.
It is the latest episode in a scandal that has enraged a country in the depths of recession and record unemployment.
Previous reports in El Mundo have alleged that Mr Rajoy and other top politicians received illicit payments. The paper said it had original ledger entries written by the former PP treasurer.
It is claimed that Mr Barcenas ran a PP slush fund that took donations from construction magnates and distributed them to party leaders in cash.
Another Spanish paper, El Pais, published similar documents earlier this year.
The leader of the country's main opposition Socialist Party, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, called for Mr Rajoy's immediate resignation on Sunday "given the unsustainable political situation in Spain".
"Mr Rajoy's conduct in this situation can be summarised quite simply: silence, lies, and after what we have learned today, collusion, extremely serious collusion," Mr Rubalcaba said.
El Mundo's most recent report includes a text message Mr Rajoy apparently sent to Mr Barcenas in January this year - when the slush fund allegations broke.
He said: "Luis, I understand. Stay strong. I'll call you tomorrow. A hug."
The paper said the conversations showed Mr Rajoy maintained "direct and permanent contact" from at least May 2011 to March 2013.
Mr Barcenas is being investigated over allegations he stashed up to 48m euros (£41m) in secret Swiss bank accounts. Prosecutors allege that some of the funds stem from illegal party donations or kickbacks.
He and his wife are also suspected of falsifying documents on their tax statements between 2002 and 2006.
The couple deny the charges.
In June, a judge ordered Mr Barcenas to be held in jail until his trial starts after prosecutors argued that he was a flight risk.
