Scottish ministers face calls to ban Donald Trump from using a government-owned airport as part of the US President’s visit to the UK.
The Commander in Chief is due to travel north of the border on Friday to spend the weekend playing golf at his Turnberry resort in South Ayrshire.
Flying restrictions have been put in place around the resort and nearby Glasgow Prestwick Airport, which was bought by Scottish ministers in 2013.
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard has joined with Scottish Greens co-convener Patrick Harvie to pressure Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to intervene.
They believe the publicly-owned facility should not be available to Trump, whose US Muslim travel ban has been heavily criticised around the world, but the Scottish Government said ministers do not intervene on how the airport is run.
In a joint statement, Leonard and Harvie said: “For Donald Trump to travel to Scotland with public assistance and ease when his travel ban has caused outrage and despair around the world would simply not be acceptable.
“The Scottish Government owns Prestwick Airport. We believe that this publicly-owned facility should not be used for Donald Trump’s visit.
“We urge that the Scottish Government rules out any use of Prestwick by the president or his entourage, and so send the most powerful message possible that Donald Trump is not welcome in Scotland.”
It comes as thousands of Scots prepare to greet the President by staging two major protests against his visit, the first in Glasgow on Friday evening and the second in Edinburgh on Saturday.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Prestwick Airport is operated on a commercial basis and at arm’s length from the Scottish Government, in compliance with EU state aid rules.
“Ministers do not intervene in any specific commercial matters at the airport.
“Scotland has deep and longstanding ties of family, friendship and business with the United States, which will continue to endure.
“At the same time, we will not compromise our fundamental values of equality, diversity and human rights, and we expect these values to be made clear during the presidential visit to the UK.
“We would encourage those attending any protests to do so peacefully and safely.”