'Trump said jump, Salmond said how high?' - golf row deepens

ALEX Salmond was yesterday accused of compromising Scotland's planning system with his handling of Donald Trump's application to build a £1 billion golf resort.

MSPs yesterday debated the findings of an investigation by Holyrood's local government committee, which last month found the First Minister showed "exceptionally poor judgment" with his actions over the controversial planning application by the American tycoon.

During yesterday's debate, Duncan McNeil, the committee's Labour convener, criticised Mr Salmond for meeting Trump representatives after the application was rejected by Aberdeenshire Council.

And he raised concerns over Mr Salmond arranging a meeting by phone with Jim Mackinnon, Scotland's chief planner, while with the Trump representatives.

Mr McNeil also attacked the Scottish Government for "calling in" the application when Trump refused to appeal, adding: "Cynics might say, 'Trump said jump, the First Minister said, how high?'."

He said the intervention on the application for the Menie estate in Aberdeenshire was not a solitary incident, citing ministers' alleged interference in a multi-million-pound hotel application in Aviemore.

He concluded: "Yes, they have succeeded in keeping the (Menie] development alive, but at some cost – the planning process has been compromised and the Trump development is facing further delay and a possible court challenge."

The SNP was quick to dismiss the debate and inquiry, with back-bench MSP Alex Neil calling it a "witch-hunt".

Stewart Stevenson, the planning minister, pointed out that the committee had agreed ministers broke neither the ministerial code nor the law.

He added: "Ministers and officials have at all times acted properly, objectively and in full accordance with planning legislation, the Scottish ministerial code and all other requirements."

Kenny Gibson, an SNP MSP who was denied the chance of summing up in yesterday's debate, even though he is vice-convener of the committee, added: "I realise opposition politicians are excited at the prospect of raising the hazy perception of Scottish Government wrong-doing, even if no evidence is available to support it. It would have been better to await the Scottish Government response before forging ahead."

SNP MSPs yesterday decided to abstain on the motion to note the report's conclusions.

But opposition MSPs were unrepentant about "holding ministers to account". David McLetchie, the Tories' local-government spokesman, claimed the meeting with Trump representatives only took place because Alex Salmond was First Minister.

He said had Nora Radcliffe, the former Liberal Democrat MSP for Gordon, held her seat, it would have been very different, and asked: "Does anyone in this chamber believe that the Trump Organisation would have been rushing to meet Nora Radcliffe?"

He added: "We were asked to believe a decision (on calling the application in] had to be made within such a short timescale because there was a serious risk that this option would be closed off. In other words, it was a race against time. What nonsense."

Robert Brown, a Lib Dem MSP who sat as an extra member on the inquiry, said: "The overall picture of the current Scottish Government is one of breathtaking arrogance combined with staggering ineptitude which could and did imperil this application.

"Not for them the proper balance between competing interests required by the due process of the planning system and by the ministerial code."

COUNCIL TO BACK TYCOON
ABERDEENSHIRE council yesterday rejected a call to stand firm on the original decision of its infrastructure services committee to throw out the £1 billion golf development proposal by Donald Trump, the American tycoon.

Martin Ford, the Liberal Democrat councillor who was sacked as convener of the council's planning committee for using his casting vote to reject the application, claimed that the authority's decision to later support the scheme had undermined the democratic planning process.

However, he failed to secure support from the council to stand firm on the original decision of the infrastructure services committee to reject the application as a meeting of the full council overwhelmingly voted in favour of the Menie estate development for a second time.

The council voted 56 to five to support the Trump application when the controversial application comes before the public inquiry in June.