As with so many things about Donald Trump, the policing around his visit to Scotland has not been normal – but John Swinney told the Mirror it was worth it
Scottish First Minister John Swinney has defended the eye-watering cost of protecting Donald Trump on his golf trip to Scotland.
The cost of policing the President’s four-day holiday – which is thought to have involved as many as 5,000 officers, more than protect the White House every day – is likely to run to the tens of millions.
Huge exclusion zones were set up around Trump’s two golf resorts for days during his visit, with pedestrians, vehicles and aircraft banned for miles around.
Entrances were guarded by teams of police officers around the clock.
And even a section of beach was declared off-limits near his Turnberry course, preventing protesters demonstrating nearby as they have during previous visits.
While there were high level meetings with both Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the trip, it is extremely unusual for the PM to travel to meet a visiting world leader.
Normally such meetings would take place in Downing Street, where high security is built-in.
And while Mr Starmer and Mr Swinney both enjoyed dinner with Mr Trump last night, the focus of his visit to Aberdeenshire has been the opening of his new multi-million pound golf course – a commercial event.
But for the SNP’s Mr Swinney, this was a price worth paying to welcome the President to Scotland.
“If the President of the United States comes to your country there are security implications, and you have to deal with that,” he told the Mirror.
“We have to address these issues with Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority.”
Asked why the US President had been granted a setup so different from other world leaders visiting the UK, he added: “There may well be circumstances where we have to make provision for world leaders coming to Scotland and this is on a big scale.”
Mr Swinney met the president ahead of the opening of a second course at his Aberdeenshire golf club, where he pressed him on the 10% levy on Scotland’s national drink.
The tariff, it is believed, costs the sector £4 million per week, with distillery bosses keen to reach an agreement as part of the US-UK trade deal.
Speaking to the PA news agency after the opening of the course, the First Minister said: “I think there’s a willingness for President Trump to look at the issues that I’ve set out to him.
“I don’t think that was the position a few days ago, because I think President Trump was of the view that the trade deal was done and dusted and that was an end of the matter.”
Mr Swinney told Mr Trump Scotch whisky was “unique” to Scotland and the tariff was a “significant impediment”.
“I think there is an opportunity for us to make progress,” he added.
“I wouldn’t have expected to be able to get an outcome in the course of the discussion I had yesterday and this morning with President Trump, but we will follow this up with the US administration, follow up with the United Kingdom Government, to make the progress that I think Scotland would expect on this matter.”
The president was asked about whisky tariffs by journalists at his Ayrshire golf course on Monday, where he appeared not to know there was an issue.
“We’ll talk about that, I didn’t know whisky was a problem,” Mr Trump said.
“I’m not a big whisky drinker but maybe I should be.”