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| Salmond attack on Trump critics | Salmond attack on Trump critics |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| First Minister Alex Salmond has attacked Lib Dem leader Nicol Stephen over his criticism of the handling of the Donald Trump golf application. | |
| Mr Stephen said the government's involvement with the £1bn Aberdeenshire golf resort plan "smelled of sleaze". | Mr Stephen said the government's involvement with the £1bn Aberdeenshire golf resort plan "smelled of sleaze". |
| Urging him to apologise to civil servants, Mr Salmond said Mr Stephen was now unelectable in the north east. | Urging him to apologise to civil servants, Mr Salmond said Mr Stephen was now unelectable in the north east. |
| Ministers will have the final say on the plans after they were rejected by the local council. | Ministers will have the final say on the plans after they were rejected by the local council. |
| Scotland's top civil servant, Sir John Elvidge, said that all civil servants involved in the application had obeyed the rules. | |
| He said the chief planner, Jim McKinnon, had assured him that he had at no time been instructed to act improperly. | |
| I believe that the irresponsible attitude of Nicol Stephen and some others makes his position unelectable in the north east of Scotland Alex SalmondFirst minister class="" href="/1/hi/scotland/7153802.stm">Swinney responds to attacks | |
| Concerns were raised following a series of events surrounding the application including that, on the day ministers called in the application, Mr Trump's team was present at the start of a phone call with Mr McKinnon and Aberdeenshire Council. | |
| The government later said members of the Trump organisation were in the room with Mr McKinnon at the start of the first of two phone conversations, but not when the discussion took place. | The government later said members of the Trump organisation were in the room with Mr McKinnon at the start of the first of two phone conversations, but not when the discussion took place. |
| At a press conference in Edinburgh, Mr Salmond again defended his role in the affair, as written answers by the Scottish Government to 54 parliamentary questions were made public. | |
| The first minister said Mr Stephen should apologise to Mr McKinnon "without question". | |
| "An apology will be achieved at some point and I suspect Mr Stephen should do it sooner rather than later," he said. | |
| Ministers will have the final say on Mr Trump's plans | |
| "I believe that the irresponsible attitude of Nicol Stephen and some others makes his position unelectable in the north east of Scotland. | |
| "I think the language used has been extreme and I think he shall regret that course of action." | |
| Concerns were also raised after it emerged that Mr Salmond met Mr Trump's representatives the day before ministers decided to "call in" the golf resort plans, following its rejection by Aberdeenshire Council's infrastructure committee. | |
| The first minister is forbidden from taking part in the planning process but insisted that he was duty bound to meet people on all sides because the plans for two championship golf courses, 950 holiday homes and 36 golf villas fell into his Gordon constituency. | |
| It has also emerged that Mr Mackinnon took a call from Mr Salmond, in his role as a constituency MSP, seeking advice on whether it would still be "permissible" for government planning officials to meet Trump representative. | |
| Mr Mackinnon confirmed officials could meet with parties involved - but only to discuss options and procedural implications and not consider the merits of the case. |