No evidence of violent or disruptive protests planned around Trump visit, police say

Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond said it was “reasonable” to expect protests in Ayrshire, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow as part of the “large scale, complex” operation surrounding the US president’s trip, but revealed that the force has yet to proactively engage with any groups planning demonstrations.

At least one organisation, known as the Stop Trump Coalition, has organised events in Aberdeen and Edinburgh this Saturday, with other protests expected in Glasgow and around Mr Trump’s golf resorts in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, and Turnberry in South Ayrshire.

But Ast Ch Const Bond said there was no reason at this stage to believe that any protest activity would pose “significant issues” for the force, while stressing that officers were prepared for any escalation in demonstrations.

She said: “I have no basis to suggest that protests will not be peaceful, I have no basis to suggest it will lead to disorder, and I have no reason at this stage to believe that it will have a significant impact on disruption to communities.”

Ast Ch Const Bond, who as gold commander for the operation surrounding Mr Trump’s visit has overall responsibility for the policing plan, added: “Let me be very clear that abusive, threatening behaviour, any activity that in any way seeks to disrupt an event, or any activity that actually puts the safety of the public at risk is not lawful protest, and there may well be consequences from a criminal justice perspective.”

Asked by The Scotsman if the force has proactively been in touch with the Stop Trump Coalition, one of the most visible groups planning protests in Scotland, Ast Ch Const Bond said there had been no “specific reach out” as yet, but added: “It’s not specific to that group. There are a number of different groups who we suspect may wish to protest, and we will deal with those people who wish to exercise that democratic right.” She also said she could not rule out protesters coming from abroad to take part in demonstrations.

Mr Trump is scheduled to arrive in Scotland on Friday for the start of a five day trip that will take in visits to his resorts in Turnberry and Balmedie, as well as meetings with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and First Minister John Swinney. It marks his first trip to Scotland as president since his first term in the summer of 2018.

Addressing members of the media at a briefing in Police Scotland’s offices in Dalmarnock, Glasgow, Ast Ch Const Bond said the scale of the operation this time around was “not dissimilar” to that staged during Mr Trump’s visit seven years ago, explaining: “We have multiple venues that we are obviously factoring into our planning, and he is here for a slightly longer period of time than he has been in the past, but it’s absolutely not outside of the scale of operations that we’ve had to plan before.”

The 2018 operation saw Police Scotland rack up a bill for £3.2 million, around half of which was accounted for by overtime payments. Ahead of Mr Trump’s return, Ast Ch Const Bond said there were still finance issues that needed to be “worked up,” but that the force was working with both the Scottish and UK governments for funding for an operation that would come at a “significant cost.”

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Amnesty International UK has called on the Scottish Government to ensure Police Scotland and other forces involved in policing Mr Trump’s visit uphold the right to peaceful protest, and Ast Ch Const Bond said the force wanted to ensure people could demonstrate.

She told journalists: “The priorities for this operation are very much focused around maintaining public safety, balancing the rights to peaceful protest, and also ensuring that we minimise disruption to wider communities.

“As you can imagine, it is a large scale, complex operation, but that is something that Police Scotland is immensely experienced at doing.

“The key very much is to make sure that the president of the United States can come, enjoy a peaceful and safe visit to Scotland, and ensure that Police Scotland is able to maintain delivering services to the rest of the communities within Scotland while he is here over the period of his visit.”

Ast Ch Const Bond did not disclose the headcount of the officers involved, but said it was a “significant” operation. As part of the operation, the force will draw on local officers, those from its national divisions, and special constables. For specialist roles, Police Scotland has also asked for support from other UK forces via mutual aid requests, and it has been directly engaging with the US Secret Service.

The demand on the force’s resources has sparked disquiet, with the Scottish Police Federation, which represents 98 per cent of all police officers in Scotland, looking into potential legal action after claiming that workforce agreements have been broken by Police Scotland in the run up to Mr Trump’s visit.

Responding to the federation’s stance, Ast Ch Const Bond said: “I fully recognise the concerns of the police federation, and we’re working with them to make sure we address those concerns.”