Donald Trump: Protester dressed as former US President demonstrates outside Edinburgh's Holyrood ahead of MSP debate

The demonstrator has been pictured wearing a suit, a giant fake Trump head and carrying a sign saying “Investigate Me!” at about 10am this morning.

The protest comes ahead of a meeting at Holyrood, due to take place this afternoon, where MSPs are set to vote on whether Nicola Sturgeon’s government should order an investigation into Donald Trump’s Scottish golf resorts.

The opposition-led vote at the Scottish Parliament is aimed at pressuring the First Minister to seek an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO), amid concerns about the financing behind the Trump Organisation’s resorts in Scotland.

Today’s opposition debate has been called by the Scottish Greens Patrick Harvie, who said it was time to shed some light on the “shadowy” business dealings of Mr Trump.

He said: “The Scottish government has tried to avoid the question of investigating Donald Trump’s wealth for far too long.

“There are serious concerns about how he financed the cash purchases of his Scottish golf courses, but no investigation has ever taken place.”

“That’s why I’m bringing this vote to parliament. The government must seek an unexplained wealth order to shine a light on Trump’s shadowy dealings.”

Protester standing outside Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh ahead of MSPs debate on Donald Trump's financing of some of Scotland's golf courses picture: Lisa Ferguson/JPI Media

MSPs have said there were “evidenced concerns” surrounding the Trump Organisation’s purchases of the Turnberry golf course in Ayrshire, and the purchase of land for its course in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire.

Avaaz, a global civic movement, confirmed it is behind the protest and its Scottish members have been calling on the First Minister and the country’s MSPs to investigate Trump’s business dealings in Scotland.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.