Trump wants Scotland to 'thrive' as Swinney to press for tariffs cuts

US President Donald Trump says "a lot" of his trade agreement with the UK will be of benefit to Scotland.

Following a meeting with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Trump said he wanted to see Scotland "thrive".

The two met at Trump's golf resort in South Ayrshire on the third full day of the US president's private visit to Scotland.

They will travel together to Aberdeen and will meet Scotland's First Minister John Swinney. Trump will use the visit to open a second course at his Menie resort.

Swinney is expected to join Trump and Starmer for dinner on Monday evening.

He said he would use his meeting with the president to make the case for cutting tariffs on Scotch whisky.

At a press conference with Starmer at Turnberry, Trump was pressed on whether there was a better deal on whisky exports to America.

He said: "I assume when we do our trade deal, overall, a lot of it comes to Scotland I hope."

Trump then turned to Starmer and added: "Maybe all of it should come to Scotland".

The Prime Minister said the deal was "very good" for the whole of the UK, adding "we have already achieved great things on the deal and we will achieve even more".

John Swinney said whisky justified an exemption from the 10% tariff

Trump also told reporters that "this is a part of the world I want to see thrive, it is going to thrive".

The US president spoke about his Scottish mother who was born on Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.

He said: "I have great love for Scotland. My mother loved Scotland and she loved the Queen."

Trump said he did not want to get involved in British domestic politics when asked for his opinion on plans for a second referendum on Scottish independence.

He said he did not know First Minister John Swinney, but added: "I hear very good things about him, and I'm meeting him today, so maybe I'll have a better opinion."

Starmer and Trump held a joint press conference for reporters at Turnberry

Speaking earlier on BBC Breakfast, Swinney said he would press the president to exempt Scotch whisky from US trade tariffs.

For the Scotch whisky industry the US market is one of the most important, worth more than £900m a year.

Swinney said the uniqueness of whisky distilled in Scotland justified an exemption from the 10% tariff applied on UK exports into the US.

He said tariffs were currently costing the industry £4m a week.

Swinney said: "Tariffs are very important for the Scottish economy and obviously Scotch whisky is a unique product.

"It can only be produced in Scotland. It's not a product that can be produced in any other part of the world.

"Obviously the trade deal with the United States provides a degree of stability for economic connections with the United States, but the application of tariffs is increasing the costs for the Scotch whisky industry."

Swinney also said he would seek to ensure President Trump knows the "strength of feeling" in Scotland over the humanitarian situation in Gaza when they meet.

President Trump arrived in Scotland on Friday evening, with Air Force One touching down at Glasgow Prestwick Airport before his entourage travelled to nearby Turnberry.

He has since spent two days at Turnberry, playing golf with friends and guests in what has been billed as a private visit.

A high-level security operation was ramped up over the weekend, but public protests were limited to a handful of individuals at Turnberry while the main anti-Trump demonstrations in Aberdeen and Edinburgh on Saturday passed off largely peacefully.

The first minister said the final cost of the policing the visit has yet to be worked out, but his government was "working very closely" with Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority and the UK government.

He said: "The security arrangements have gone well since President Trump arrived on Friday.

"It's also important that members of the public who wish to express their point of view, who want to protest about the visit or about other issues, are able to go about their exercise of their democratic right to protest."

Trump hosted a meeting with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at Turnberry on Sunday, where they agreed a new transatlantic trade deal.

After shaking hands on the deal, Trump said: "It's going to bring us closer together... it's a partnership in a sense."

Von der Leyen also hailed it as a "huge deal", which came after "tough negotiations".

The agreement sets the US tariffs on goods from the European Union at 15% across the board.

It had been facing a 30% levy on its exports to the US from 1 August.

President Trump will travel back to Washington on Tuesday and is due to return to the UK for an official state visit in September.