Alex Salmond questions police after filmmaker arrested during Donald Trump documentary

First Minister Alex Salmond is to question Grampian Police as to why a filmmaker was arrested while making a documentary about Donald Trump’s controversial golf course near Aberdeen.

• Film shows documentary maker being arrested in First Minister’s Aberdeenshire East constituency

• Salmond says constituents concerned over claims police acted in “partial and unacceptable manner”

Filmmaker Anthony Baxter was arrested in 2010 after filming residents who opposed Donald Trump’s multi-million pound golf resort, and detained for several hours, while his camera and equipment was impounded for almost a week.

It is thought that a million viewers have now seen the documentary which was shown on BBC2 on Sunday evening.

In a letter to his constituents, Alex Salmond has said: The film raises issues which have caused concern to a number of my constituents, specifically the strong suggestion that Grampian Police acted in a partial and unacceptable manner, for example the arrest of filmmakers which took place in 2010.

Complaints

“With that in mind, I have written to the chief constable of Grampian Police, Colin McKerracher, to allow the police the opportunity to explain their actions and what steps have been taken in response to previous complaints.”

However, Grampian Police say that no letter has yet been received.

The film, You’ve Been Trumped, was originally released in 2011 and aims to show the “disturbing” situation which arose from Trump’s bid to build the resort.

The film’s website says of the production: “Told entirely without narration, You’ve Been Trumped captures the cultural chasm between the glamorous, jet-setting and media savvy Donald Trump and a deeply rooted Scottish community. What begins as an often amusing clash of world views grows increasingly bitter and disturbing. For the tycoon, the golf course is just another deal, with a possible billion dollar payoff. For the residents, it represents the destruction of a globally unique landscape that has been the backdrop for their lives.”