Government denies Donald Trump's claim of planning guarantee

In an interview with Scotland on Sunday, Mr Trump claimed he was telephoned by an unnamed government representative and assured that he would "win" planning permission if he pressed ahead with his Menie Estate proposals after the initial rejection by Aberdeenshire Council.

But his spokeswoman last night insisted that his comments referred to both a well-documented meeting between Mr Trump and First Minister Alex Salmond, acting in his capacity as local MSP – and a phone call from Mr Trump's representative, George Sorial, speaking generally about widespread political support for the project.

"I give the Executive (Scottish Government] a lot of credit," Mr Trump told Scotland on Sunday. "They called me and really wanted me to continue going forward. I said are you kidding? I just lost. I don't like to lose. They said no, you'll win. They didn't want me to leave."

His comments yesterday sparked calls from campaigners for an investigation into the incident.

But his spokeswoman in Scotland, Sarah Malone, attempted to defuse the row, saying the quotes were accurate but "out of context". But when pressed, she admitted she had not spoken to the tycoon since the quotes had been published, nor had she been present at the interview.

"The issue refers to the very well documented meeting that took place on December 3 2007 between representatives of the Trump organisation and Alex Salmond, where there was never any doubt that Mr Salmond was acting in his capacity as MSP for Gordon," she said.

"The call referred to actually came from George Sorial, Mr Trump's representative at the meeting.

"These issues were explored and reported on fully through the committee hearings years ago, and our position remains unchanged."

The issue has undergone the "highest level of scrutiny" in Scottish planning history, she added.

The Scottish Government – which is supposed to remain impartial in planning-related issues – has defended the claim, insisting that its procedure was "totally robust".

A Scottish Government spokesman denied that Mr Trump had received such a call, pointing to a 2008 report which stated that John Swinney had acted in accordance with planning laws in his decision to call in the application.

"This is not correct. No person in the Scottish Government expressed such a view on the development," he said.

The US billionaire's 750 million luxury golf and housing development on the Menie estate in Aberdeenshire is currently under construction after the 2007 decision to reject it was overturned. The application was "called-in" by the Scottish Government just four days later and finance secretary John Swinney backed it after a public local inquiry.

Martin Glegg, spokesman for Tripping up Trump, the organisation formed to oppose the development, called for an investigation into the claims.

He added: "This revelation by Trump makes a mockery of the responsibility and structure of our national planning process."