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Donald Trump has threatened to withhold £700m worth of investment in Scotland – including the £200m refurbishment of the Trump Turnberry hotel – if he is barred from the UK.
The 157-bedroom Trump Turnberry on the South Ayrshire coast, Scotland, closed its doors last year to undergo a £200m renovation. The property is expected to reopen in June 2016 but this could be delayed if funding is pulled.
Trump has also threatened to withhold £500m of investment at an Aberdeenshire golf course and has been accused of trying to ‘blackmail’ Scotland.
The threat comes after MPs confirmed that on 18 January they would debate a petition started by Suzanne Kelly, which called for the US presidential hopeful to be refused entry to the UK – it has been signed by more than 570,000 people.
In a statement on Wednesday, January 6, the Trump Organisation said: “Any action to restrict travel would force the Trump Organisation to immediately end these and all future investments we are currently contemplating in the United Kingdom.”
It continued that Westminster would create a “dangerous precedent” and send a “terrible message to the world that the United Kingdom opposes free speech and has no interest in attracting inward investment” if Trump was banned from entering the country.
Work on the Trump Turnberry is expected to include the complete overhaul of its 157 guestrooms, suites, corridors, restaurants and public spaces, along with the addition of a 500-capacity grand ballroom and the renovation of its Ailsa Championship golf course.
