Trump tells Scotland: take it or leave it

Property tycoon Donald Trump has issued a blunt ultimatum to Scotland over his £1bn golf course: take it or leave it.

In typical bullish style, Trump told a public inquiry into the course, proposed for an area in unspoilt northern Scotland, that he refused to do a “half-assed” job.

“I’m going to do the greatest golf course or I’m not,” he said.

“If you want what we’re doing, which will be a truly wonderful thing, let’s do it properly. Let’s not do it – we’ve an expression in the United States – half-assed. If you want what we are doing, let’s do it properly.”

Mr Trump, star of the US version of The Apprentice, wants to build two golf courses, 900 timeshare apartments, a 450-bed hotel and 500 luxury homes on the Menie estate near Aberdeen.

But environmentalists say sand dunes on the land are home to a rich variety of wildlife.

The issue has now come before a public inquiry, which Mr Trump fronted yesterday flanked by press and security.

Under questioning, Mr Trump was forced to admit he had read none of the expert environmental reports at the heart of the inquiry, reported the Guardian.

His own specialists had advised him to avoid the mobile dunes which he insisted he wanted.

He retorted that he had received many environmental awards and considered himself “an environmentalist in the true sense of the word.”

He defended his plans and said they would improve the land, which he claimed was littered with dead birds and garbage.

The inquiry is expected to last between three and four weeks.