Planner at centre of Donald Trump ‘sleaze’ row receives a CBE

THE chief planner at the Scottish Government, Jim Mackinnon, received a CBE yesterday along with the Auditor General for Scotland, Robert Black.

But the honour for Mr Mackinnon, 59, from Forres, named chief planner and head of planning and building standards group in the then Scottish Executive in 2000, came after a tangle with controversy.

He said he was “really flattered” by his inclusion, adding: “I have been incredibly fortunate to have worked over the years with a range of fantastic colleagues across the Scottish Government.

“I hope they, as well as many of our external stakeholders with whom we have worked closely, can take some pleasure in this as well.”

As part of his job, Mr Mackinnon was contacted by First Minister Alex Salmond regarding US tycoon Donald Trump’s controversial plans to build a golf resort in the Menie estate in Aberdeenshire.

During a meeting with representatives of the Trump organisation, Mr Salmond telephoned Mr Mackinnon to help set up a meeting with the billionaire’s team – on the same day the Scottish Government announced it was calling in the planning application, originally refused by Aberdeenshire Council.

The affair blew up into a political row, with then Lib Dem leader Nicol Stephen saying it “smells of sleaze”.

Far more unusual was the prospect of a former prisoner bestowed with CBE – property tycoon Gerald Ronson. The 72-year-old was convicted in 1990 for his involvement in the Guinness share-trading scandal and served six months of a one-year jail sentence.

But he eventually won a European Court of Human Rights ruling that his trial had been unfair, and went on to revive his business empire and raise more than £100 million for charities, including £30m in personal donations to organisations such as the Community Security Trust, the NSPCC and the Prince’s Trust.