Wind farms like Lockerbie disaster - Donald Trump

[This is the headline over a report in today’s edition of The Scotsman.  It reads in part:]

Donald Trump sparked renewed outrage yesterday when he compared the development of wind farms in Scotland to the Lockerbie disaster.

On Tuesday, the billionaire tycoon announced that the Trump Organisation would be turning its back on Scotland and concentrating on developing a new course on the Republic of Ireland’s Atlantic coast.

The announcement came after Trump lost his legal challenge against the Scottish Government’s decision to give the go-ahead to an offshore wind farm in Aberdeen Bay which he claims will blight the view from his luxury golf resort at Menie, on the Aberdeenshire coast.

But yesterday, Trump sparked an angry backlash after renewing his attack on green energy schemes in Scotland in an interview with The Irish Times.

He told the newspaper: “Wind farms are a disaster for Scotland, like Pan Am 103. They make people sick with the continuous noise. They’re an abomination and are only sustained with government subsidy. Scotland is in the middle of a revolution against wind farms. People don’t want them near their homes, ruining property values.” (...)

Trump’s outburst was condemned by MSPs and relatives of the victims.

Susan Cohen, a New Jersey pensioner whose daughter Theodora, an aspiring actress, was 20 when she was killed in the disaster, said: “Obviously, there is no call for that. Donald Trump says many, many things here in the United States and I am, of course, appreciative of anyone who takes a tough stand on Lockerbie which he did at times.

“But, at the same time, I think that is an unfortunate choice of words. I wish he had not made that comparison. Lockerbie was a ghastly tragedy that destroyed many lives and is beyond comparison. It is one of the great and terrible events of man’s inhumanity to man and therefore it’s of an order where it should not be likened to anything.”

Joan McAlpine, the SNP MSP for the South of Scotland, claimed: “Even by Donald Trump’s standards, these comments are unbelievably crass and show a complete lack of respect to the families affected by the Lockerbie bombing – in the US, Scotland and across the world. He should withdraw them as a matter of urgency and apologise for any offence he has caused.”

Alison Johnstone, a Green Party MSP for the Lothians and member of Holyrood’s economy, energy and tourism committee, also hit out at the tycoon’s remarks. She said: “It’s grossly offensive to link renewables with the Lockerbie bombing. Mr Trump has already been reprimanded by advertising authorities for making such distasteful statements and he should apologise for his continued crass behaviour.” Ms Johnstone added: “He didn’t have a shred of evidence that renewables are bad for tourism when he was quizzed in parliament. Twelve-thousand people are now employed in renewables in Scotland, proving that Mr Trump knows nothing about the Scottish economy.”

In December 2012, Trump was accused of “sinking to a new low” and being “sick” for publishing an advert in Scottish newspapers which linked the government’s support of wind farms with the decision to release Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing.

The Scottish Green Party lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority over the controversial advert, published in two regional newspapers and urging the public to protest against First Minister Alex Salmond’s support for renewable energy.

Under the banner “Is this the future for Scotland?” the advert featured a picture of a huge wind farm in California and a photograph of the First Minister.

It stated: “Tourism will suffer and the beauty of your country is in jeopardy! This is the same mind that backed the release of terrorist al-Megrahi ‘for humane reasons’ – after he ruthlessly killed 270 people on Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie.”

The advert was condemned as “misleading” by the Advertising Standards Authority. (...)

[David Milne, a long-standing opponent of the Trump resort:]

Words have been used by Mr Trump on many occasions to accuse others of impropriety and inappropriate behaviour, with little in the way of evidence to support his claims. Having read the Court of Session decision by Lord Doherty, he obviously came to a similar conclusion about the evidence supplied by Mr Trump in that situation.

Unfortunately, grandiose words seem to have failed Mr Trump this time and his use of the Lockerbie bombing in comparison to wind turbines is not acceptable.

To diminish the suffering of the families of that event by trying to compare an international terrorist event that killed people of several nationalities with an attempt to protect and extend the environment of our planet is insensitive and ill considered. I am certain even some of his own supporters back in the USA will be shocked.

[Further blogposts relating to Donald Trump’s Lockerbie and Megrahi outbursts can be read here.]

President-elect Trump and Lockerbie

[President-elect Donald Trump has featured on many occasions over the years on this blog. The relevant posts can be read here. What follows is a sample from 13 February 2014:]

Wind farms like Lockerbie disaster - Donald Trump

[This is the headline over a report in today’s edition of The Scotsman.  It reads in part:]

Donald Trump sparked renewed outrage yesterday when he compared the development of wind farms in Scotland to the Lockerbie disaster.

On Tuesday, the billionaire tycoon announced that the Trump Organisation would be turning its back on Scotland and concentrating on developing a new course on the Republic of Ireland’s Atlantic coast.

The announcement came after Trump lost his legal challenge against the Scottish Government’s decision to give the go-ahead to an offshore wind farm in Aberdeen Bay which he claims will blight the view from his luxury golf resort at Menie, on the Aberdeenshire coast.

But yesterday, Trump sparked an angry backlash after renewing his attack on green energy schemes in Scotland in an interview with The Irish Times.

He told the newspaper: “Wind farms are a disaster for Scotland, like Pan Am 103. They make people sick with the continuous noise. They’re an abomination and are only sustained with government subsidy. Scotland is in the middle of a revolution against wind farms. People don’t want them near their homes, ruining property values.” (...)

Trump’s outburst was condemned by MSPs and relatives of the victims.

Susan Cohen, a New Jersey pensioner whose daughter Theodora, an aspiring actress, was 20 when she was killed in the disaster, said: “Obviously, there is no call for that. Donald Trump says many, many things here in the United States and I am, of course, appreciative of anyone who takes a tough stand on Lockerbie which he did at times.

“But, at the same time, I think that is an unfortunate choice of words. I wish he had not made that comparison. Lockerbie was a ghastly tragedy that destroyed many lives and is beyond comparison. It is one of the great and terrible events of man’s inhumanity to man and therefore it’s of an order where it should not be likened to anything.”

Joan McAlpine, the SNP MSP for the South of Scotland, claimed: “Even by Donald Trump’s standards, these comments are unbelievably crass and show a complete lack of respect to the families affected by the Lockerbie bombing – in the US, Scotland and across the world. He should withdraw them as a matter of urgency and apologise for any offence he has caused.”

Alison Johnstone, a Green Party MSP for the Lothians and member of Holyrood’s economy, energy and tourism committee, also hit out at the tycoon’s remarks. She said: “It’s grossly offensive to link renewables with the Lockerbie bombing. Mr Trump has already been reprimanded by advertising authorities for making such distasteful statements and he should apologise for his continued crass behaviour.” Ms Johnstone added: “He didn’t have a shred of evidence that renewables are bad for tourism when he was quizzed in parliament. Twelve-thousand people are now employed in renewables in Scotland, proving that Mr Trump knows nothing about the Scottish economy.”

In December 2012, Trump was accused of “sinking to a new low” and being “sick” for publishing an advert in Scottish newspapers which linked the government’s support of wind farms with the decision to release Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing.

The Scottish Green Party lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority over the controversial advert, published in two regional newspapers and urging the public to protest against First Minister Alex Salmond’s support for renewable energy.

Under the banner “Is this the future for Scotland?” the advert featured a picture of a huge wind farm in California and a photograph of the First Minister.

It stated: “Tourism will suffer and the beauty of your country is in jeopardy! This is the same mind that backed the release of terrorist al-Megrahi ‘for humane reasons’ – after he ruthlessly killed 270 people on Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie.”

The advert was condemned as “misleading” by the Advertising Standards Authority. (...)

[David Milne, a long-standing opponent of the Trump resort:]

Words have been used by Mr Trump on many occasions to accuse others of impropriety and inappropriate behaviour, with little in the way of evidence to support his claims. Having read the Court of Session decision by Lord Doherty, he obviously came to a similar conclusion about the evidence supplied by Mr Trump in that situation.

Unfortunately, grandiose words seem to have failed Mr Trump this time and his use of the Lockerbie bombing in comparison to wind turbines is not acceptable.

To diminish the suffering of the families of that event by trying to compare an international terrorist event that killed people of several nationalities with an attempt to protect and extend the environment of our planet is insensitive and ill considered. I am certain even some of his own supporters back in the USA will be shocked.

Hell hath no fury like a tycoon scorned

[What follows is an excerpt from the coverage (behind the paywall) in today’s edition of The Times of the revelation that First Minister Alex Salmond solicited a statement of support from Donald Trump after the release of Abdelbaset Megrahi:]

Alex Salmond has been accused of “acting like a dictator” after it emerged that he rang Donald Trump to “demand” he endorse the release of the Lockerbie bomber.

The First Minister then had his aides concoct a statement in which the US tycoon praised the SNP administration’s decision to free Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds as a gesture that “might break the cycle of violence around the world”.

In the statement, apparently drafted by Geoff Aberdein, Mr Salmond’s special adviser, it was suggested that Mr Trump should sympathise with Americans who lost family in the 1988 atrocity but conclude that al-Megrahi’s release “won’t stop my love affair with Scotland and the Scots. “No one should ever demean that country. Too many Scottish soldiers have died in Iraq and Afghanistan for the head of the FBI to lecture Scots on fighting terrorism”, he was urged to say.

Mr Trump refused to endorse the statement. Last night his son, Donald Jnr, said it was inconceivable that the businessman could ever have signed. “We are New Yorkers, we have experienced terrorism at an extraordinary level,” said Mr Trump Jr, who works alongside his father.

“I think there was an element that we thought it must be a joke initially, had it not been so atrocious. No one in their right mind could have possibly asked someone to come out in favour of this decision.”

According to the Trump Organisation, the stand-off had profound consequences for the tycoon’s £750 million golf resort, planned for the Aberdeenshire coast.

After years of cosying up to Mr Trump, the First Minister suddenly turned his back on his scheme, encouraging the siting of 11 giant offshore wind turbines within a mile of the links, as part of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre.

Mr Trump’s team accuses Mr Salmond of subsequently lobbying other organisations, including the Ministry of Defence and the RSPB, to withdraw their objections to the wind farm.

George Sorial, the executive vice-president of the Trump Organisation, said: “It is not acceptable for the First Minister to be running around acting like a dictator. This is not Cuba, not Iraq under Saddam Hussain.”

Both Mr Sorial and Mr Trump Jr were privy to the conference call in August 2009 when Mr Salmond rang to ask for assistance. The terrorist’s release had provoked a wave of anger in America, and Mr Sorial said he could recall the First Minister’s words.

“He was calling to ask us, but he was really making a demand,” said Mr Sorial. “(Salmond) said: ‘This is one of the low points in my political career, seeing this guy arrive in Tripoli to waving saltires. This is such an embarrassment for me. I need your help, I need your support. I am going to send you a statement and we expect that you will release it’.”

Mr Trump Jr added: “It was almost an expected quid pro quo, because he had supported our development, that we would support every aspect of his policies, even policies that no sane person could support, specifically the release of Megrahi. The First Minister was upset that we couldn’t do it.” (...)

Last night, Mr Trump used Twitter to insist that his refusal to support the release of al-Megrahi had prompted Mr Salmond to withdrawn his support for the golf resort.

“If Alex Salmond had not stupidly released terrorist al-Megrahi (PanAm flight 103) to his friends, there would be no Trump wind farm dispute,” he said.

[Other media reports are to be found today in The Scotsman here; in The Herald here; in the Daily Record here; in the Daily Express here; and in the Daily Telegraph here. This last contains the following reaction from the Scottish Government:]

A spokesman for Mr Salmond claimed the approach broke no rules and the Scottish Government was “perfectly entitled to hope for support from international stakeholders”.

He added: "Indeed, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, among many others around the world, supported this decision."

Donald Trump, 'Mad Alex' and Megrahi

[What follows is extracted from a long article in today's edition of The Sunday Times in which Stephen McGinty interviews George Sorial, a lawyer and former top executive in the Trump organisation:]

As a lawyer in New Jersey, Sorial first met Trump when he was representing a group of Wall Street executives who wanted to turn the estate of John DeLorean, the disgraced car manufacturer, into a golf course. When Trump bought the project, Sorial negotiated the deal and later bonded with the property billionaire over the fact that both their mothers were born in Stornoway. (...)

Sorial, who was executive vice president of the Trump Organisation, keeps his power dry for Alex Salmond, who as first minister started as Trump’s champion and supporter before clashing over a proposed wind farm off the Aberdeenshire coast. In the book he argues that Salmond misunderstood Trump from the beginning when the first minister’s staff booked an expensive French restaurant in New York for an early meeting. Trump prefers steak and hot dogs.

As Sorial explains: “In public Trump called him ‘Mad Alex’ but in the office we would refer to him privately as ‘stupid bastard’. I can’t tell when the two of them had a proper falling out. The release of Al Megrahi [convicted for the Lockerbie bombing] was a remarkable moment. He called me trying to persuade me to speak to Mr Trump to support (the release). He sent us a statement that he wanted Mr Trump to issue publicly and I’ll never forget walking into the office. We were all New Yorkers. Personally one of my classmates J P Flynn was on Pan Am 104 (sic). That point was the first sign of his stupidity.

“Another time he tried to persuade us to purchase The Scotsman. He thought it would be a great move for us and for Scotland. We had no interest in a newspaper that nobody reads and is so laden with debt - talk about a bad deal. It was another one of many things that Salmond would try and sell us. But they were very different personalities.”

[Alex Salmond's reaction to this story is reported in Monday's edition of The Times, as follows:]

A spokesman for Mr Salmond said that Mr Sorial’s memory “is playing tricks again” and insisted that “at no stage did Alex consider Donald Trump as a likely or serious investor in The Scotsman”.

He added: “The Trump Organisation wanted Alex to move the site of the [offshore] turbines. The first minister refused to countenance that and they then took the Scottish government to court three times and lost three times.

“Two years after the decision to release Mr Megrahi on compassionate grounds the SNP were re-elected as the Scottish government by an absolute majority in a proportional parliament.”

Mr Salmond had been lined up as the figurehead for a takeover of Johnston Press, the owner of The Scotsman, by the Norwegian investor, Christen Ager-Hanssen, last year. However, he was dropped amid fears that his involvement would be too political.

Swire slates Trump and Scottish Government

[A report on the STV News website headlined Donald Trump claims advertising watchdog is 'protecting' Alex Salmond contains the following:]

American billionaire Donald trump has claimed the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) banned one of his adverts “to protect Alex Salmond”.

In an advert, placed by Golf International Golf Links last year, the tycoon linked Alex Salmond’s stance on wind turbines to the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

The advert appeared in The Press and Journal and The Courier but was banned by the ASA as it was “misleading”.

Mr Trump said: “The ASA is only trying to protect Alex Salmond for the disgraceful decision to release terrorist, al-Megrahi - the Lockerbie bomber freed for humanitarian reasons.

“He killed 270 people and was supposed to live one week but lived two years. This is the same mind that is destroying Scotland with industrial wind turbines.” (...)

Mr Trump has already been criticised by a father who lost his daughter in the Lockerbie disaster.

Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died in the bombing in December 1988, said the tragedy had “no place in a confrontation between an entrepreneur who is interested in making money in Scotland and the government”.

Speaking in December he said: “We all know what Trump’s interest is and this is obviously to further his entrepreneurial practice.

“Donald Trump’s attempt to blacken the name of the Scottish Government and convince people the Highlands will turn into one vast wind park has very little to do with Lockerbie. Other than the government has refused a proper investigation into the issues.

“The discussion and investigation [about Lockerbie] has no place in a confrontation between an entrepreneur who is interested in making money in Scotland and the government who failed to investigate the infinitely more important questions over why people were killed in 1988.”

Lockerbie victim's father, Jim Swire, advises Donald Trump to 'educate himself' on disaster

[This is the headline over an article published today on the UK website of The Huffington Post.  It reads in part:]

After Donald Trump compared the development of wind farms in Scotland to the Lockerbie disaster, the father of one victim has spoken out. (...)

"Even the most casual observer would agree that the crashing of an aircraft onto the people and town of Lockerbie was a terrible disaster for Scotland," Dr Swire said in a letter sent to the Huffington Post UK.

"But it would at the least be insensitive to compare failure to achieve his aims over a golf course to the loss of all those innocent lives," he added, referring to Trump's comments.

In yet another attack on green energy schemes, Trump said “wind farms are a disaster for Scotland, like Pan Am 103." (...)

Dr Swire advised Trump to educate himself on the truth behind the 1988 incident, saying: "Loss of life cannot be measured in terms of money, nor can its loss be compensated for through money."

Since the day his daughter was killed, Dr Swire has been battling the official version of events, which held that Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who died last year after returning to Libya from Scotland, was the guilty man.

Dr Swire is convinced that Megrahi was innocent, and describes the case against him as "rubbish", a course that has pitted him against many of the other relatives who hold the Libyan responsible.

The retired GP said he would be happy to help the billionaire tycoon become more informed. 

[Here is the full text of Dr Swire’s letter:]

Mr Trump's remarks are made against frustration at Scotland's refusal to agree to his demands over his golf course project.

This must of course be a project designed to make money for Mr Trump, that is how capitalism works, and few can be more efficient in the use of capitalist ideology than our American cousins.

But it is at the least insensitive to compare failure to achieve his aims to the loss of 270 innocent lives at Lockerbie.

Loss of life cannot be measured in terms of money, nor can its loss be compensated for through money.

However if Mr Trump wishes to look into the truth behind the Lockerbie disaster, which has I believe been obscured by Scotland's handling of the case against the Late Baset al-Megrahi, I would be happy to put his people in touch with those who have studied  that situation most closely and come to the conclusion that Scots law has failed on this issue.

Mr Trump's team might feel that the title of a recent book by John Ashton Scotland's Shame (Birlinn, Edinburgh) was of interest. They will find this book provides evidence of a major failure of our Scottish legal system, which we have yet to address.

Mr Trump needs to be careful however because his country the USA still believes that the late Baset al Megrahi and his country Libya, were responsible for the cruel slaughter at Lockerbie. If he will objectively research the issue I feel sure he will find that unfortunately we in Scotland got that horribly wrong and have yet to address our failure even all these years later.

Trump: FM called Megrahi scapegoat

[This the headline over a report (behind the paywall) in today’s Scottish edition of The Sunday Times.  It reads in part:]

Alex Salmond told Donald Trump that the Lockerbie bomber would be dead “within one week” when he tried to secure his support for the terrorist’s early release from prison, the billionaire has claimed.

Trump, who was once on friendly terms with the first minister, said Salmond made the claim to him in a telephone call days after the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi who lost his battle against prostate cancer nearly three years later. (...)

A spokesman for the tycoon also told The Sunday Times that Salmond privately claimed at the time that Megrahi had been “a scapegoat”.

Salmond has not denied that the discussions took place but a spokesman for the first minister denied the latest claims about the detail of the talks.

Some supporters of Megrahi have long argued that he did not directly participate in the bombing and was used as a scapegoat by the former regime headed by Colonel Muammar Gadaffi. However, the Scottish government’s official position then, as now, was that he was guilty of Britain’s worst terrorist attack. (...)

It first emerged last October that Salmond had asked Trump to endorse the Scottish government’s controversial decision to free Megrahi when a draft statement in Trump’s name prepared by Geoff Aberdein, the first minister’s chief of staff, was leaked. (...)

Trump said: “He called me and was very strong in wanting me to sign that letter or something very similar and I said, ‘I just can’t do it. I think it’s crazy that you did it.’

“He said he did it for humanitarian reasons . . . I told him in the strongest of language, ‘I cant do it, I disagree with your decision,’ and he said, ‘He’ll be dead in a week — because he had cancer — he’ll be dead in one week . . .’ Well, he lived for a couple of years after that and frankly, if they didn’t have the revolution [in Libya] he’d probably still be alive today.”

Trump’s spokesman George Sorial said he and Trump’s son Donald Jr also spoke to Salmond earlier on the day of the talks between the pair.

“Don and I expressed our extreme disagreement and outrage with the decision [to free Megrahi],” said Sorial. “He was responding saying, ‘Well, you don’t really have all the facts,’ and he made statements like, ‘Megrahi was used as a scapegoat.’ ” (...)

Labour said Salmond’s conduct on the Megrahi affair had been unacceptable and that it would be concerned by any suggestion that he regarded Megrahi as a scapegoat in contradiction of previous grounds given for his release.

Elaine Murray, the party’s MSP for Dumfriesshire, said it would be “totally inappropriate” for Salmond to discuss the matter in such terms with Trump.

She added: “If the first minister has the full facts about Megrahi then he should share these with the families who are still looking for answers after all these years.”

Scottish Conservative chief whip John Lamont said Trump’s claims were “embarrassing” for Salmond and underlined the fact that he had “serious questions to answer about the Megrahi release”.

But a spokesman for Salmond said that the memories of Trump and his employees “seem to be playing tricks on them again”, stating that the first minister “made no such comments to Mr Trump on the medical condition of Mr Megrahi”.

He said that the Scottish government had taken the decision to free Megrahi “on compassion grounds following medical advice and for no other reason”.

He added: “The first minister has never, to anyone, second-guessed that medical advice nor questioned Mr Megrahi’s involvement in the Lockerbie atrocity.”

Jim Swire criticises Donald Trump over Lockerbie bomber jibe

[The following is an excerpt from a report published today on the STV News website:]

A man whose daughter was killed in the Lockerbie bombing has criticised US billionaire Donald Trump for using the tragedy in his latest attack on Scotland’s First Minister.

In an advert, placed by Golf International Golf Links, the tycoon links Alex Salmond’s stance on wind turbines to the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

The advert has appeared in The Press and Journal and The Courier.

Mr Trump strongly opposes wind power and is currently locked in a battle with Alex Salmond over a proposed offshore wind farm which would be within sight of his golf course in Aberdeenshire.

Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died in the bombing in December 1988, said the tragedy had “no place in a confrontation between an entrepreneur who is interested in making money in Scotland and the government”.

He said: “We all know what Trump’s interest is and this is obviously to further his entrepreneurial practice.

“I don’t agree with the text because I don’t agree al-Megrahi was a terrorist at all. Whether his boss did [it] I don’t know. But I’m satisfied al-Megrahi didn’t.

“Donald Trump’s attempt to blacken the name of the Scottish Government and convince people the Highlands will turn into one vast wind park has very little to do with Lockerbie. Other than the government has refused a proper investigation into the issues.

“The discussion and investigation [about Lockerbie] has no place in a confrontation between an entrepreneur who is interested in making money in Scotland and the government who failed to investigate the infinitely more important questions over why people were killed in 1988.”

Megrahi, 60, was sentenced to life in prison for the 1988 bombing of a US airliner which claimed 270 lives.

He was released from jail in August 2009 on companionate ground as he was after doctors say he is likely to die within three months as he suffered from advanced prostate cancer. Megrahi died in May this year.

The advert, which features a picture of a wind farm in California, states: “Tourism will suffer and the beauty of your country is in jeopardy!

“This is the same mind that backed the release of terrorist al-Megrahi, 'for humane reasons' -- after he ruthlessly killed 270 people on Pan-Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie. Take action. Write, demonstrate and protest Alex Salmond.”

[A similar report on the MSN News website can be read here; and a report in Saturday's edition of The Scotsman here.]

Sturgeon faces uphill battle with Donald Trump over his Lockerbie bomber fury

This is the headline over an article by Siobhan McFadyen published in today’s edition of the Daily Express. It reads in part:]

It was revealed that Ms Sturgeon plans to pen a letter to the billionaire and has not received a phone call despite the fact the Scottish Government was once on amiable terms.

The SNP leader and her predecessor, who called on Mr Trump to be banned from the UK, were once so close he was lobbied over plans to release the Lockerbie bomber.

And a drafted statement was even created that said the billionaire had supported the obtuse plan, a move that backfired extraordinarily, leading to an absolute break down in relations.

Millions of people in Scotland and the United States were revolted when former Justice Secretary Kenny MacKaskill allowed Abdel Basset Al Megrahi to go free following the Pan Am 103 bombing.

A total of 270 men, women and children died when the aircraft which was on route to the United States exploded over Scottish airspace.

And as the Scottish saltire flag flew on the tarmac of the airport in Tripoli the decision infuriated Mr Trump who was later stripped of an honorary Scottish business ambassador title. (...)

Mr [Donald] Trump Jnr said: “Once we refused to support the ridiculous notion of letting an international terrorist out of jail, the entire approach of Alex Salmond’s administration and the entire way he has treated us changed drastically for the worse.”

An e-mail which was sent to the billionaire businessman by Geoff Aberdein, Mr Salmond’s senior adviser, who now works for Aberdeen Asset Management, showed just how off the mark the SNP were.

Mr Trump Jnr said: “As New Yorkers, we are not unfamiliar with terrorists. We had planes fly into the World Trade Centre. And for us to support the release of an international terrorist, we would be run out of New York City, if not America.” (...)

In January Mr Trump reiterated his irritation at Salmond whose deputy through-out his tenure was 46-year-old Sturgeon.

He fumed: "Megrahi and others were laughing out loud at what a stupid man Alex Salmond is. Why would a terrorist that blew up an airliner with so many lives lost be released under any circumstances?

"Alex Salmond is an embarrassment to Scotland.”

[RB: President-elect Trump is the man who compared the development of wind farms in Scotland to the Lockerbie disaster. Some of his other interventions on Lockerbie and Megrahi can be read here. As regards Scots being “revolted” by the release of Megrahi, a public opinion poll commissioned by the Express itself two years after his repatriation and before his death showed a majority in favour.]

Reveal who else you asked to help free Libyan bomber, Labour tells Salmond

[This is the headline over a report (behind the paywall) in today’s edition of The Times. It is, of course, a scandalously inaccurate headline.  No-one, not even the Labour Party (whose hands are far from clean: remember Tony Blair’s deal in the desert?) is accusing the First Minister of asking Donald Trump or any other international figure to help free Abdelbaset Megrahi. The accusation is that he asked them to support his compassionate release after it had taken place.  The article reads in part:]

An unlikely alliance of an American billionaire and a Labour politician last night ratcheted up the pressure on Alex Salmond to explain his behaviour over what Donald Trump called his “absolutely disgusting” decision to release the Lockerbie bomber.

It has emerged that Mr Salmond’s special adviser prepared a letter supporting the Scottish government’s decision to free Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi and asked Mr Trump to sign. He refused, but other figures, including Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, agreed to endorse the release, in 2009.

“The First Minister was totally outsmarted by the Libyans, who greeted Megrahi, waving, in a mocking fashion, the great Scottish flag,” Mr Trump said.

“As everyone is now aware, Salmond put a great deal of pressure on me and my organisation to sign a letter dictated by him, on Scottish government letterhead, to fully endorse his absolutely disgusting decision.”

While Mr Salmond has refused to comment on the letter drafted for Mr Trump, he suggested on Wednesday that it was no “big deal” that his government had asked international figures to support an important decision.

“Any government is perfectly entitled to seek support for decisions they take,” Mr Salmond said. “Nelson Mandela’s name will appear on the list, but so what? That’s what governments do: if you make decisions, you seek support for those decisions. You are absolutely entitled to do that. There is nothing surprising or untoward about it.”

The Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald has tabled a series of questions seeking to identify a full list of those approached to support the Scottish government’s decision. He said: “This whole episode leaves me with a deep sense of unease about how the First Minister operates.”

Mr Trump insists that it was his refusal to endorse the release of al-Megrahi that soured the First Minister’s attitude to the tycoon’s £750 million golf resort planned for Menie, near Aberdeen.