One of Donald Trump's opponents is calling for a full public inquiry into all official dealings between the billionaire and Scottish authorities.
David Milne, who was threatened with eviction from his home to make way for the tycoon's golf and housing development, wants the investigation to cover central and local government. The inquiry would date back to 2005, shortly before the plan to build on an environmentally-sensitive area of dunes on the north-east coast was revealed.
The move follows a BBC screening of Anthony Baxter's multi award-winning documentary You've Been Trumped, a self-styled David and Goliath story of the battle between a group of homeowners and the tycoon.
Mr Milne wants MSPs on Holyrood's Petitions Committee to press SNP ministers to set up an inquiry.
He said: "The response to You've Been Trumped this week has been truly extraordinary. We are so grateful for the enormous number of messages of support we have received, including many from people who had previously backed the project. Attitudes have shifted fast and everyone can now see how Mr Trump has behaved here. Heavy-handed billionaires are not the most serious problem, though, and it is in any case very hard to legislate against them. Our homes may be safe now, too, even if the environment we live in has been devastated.
"The root of the problems we faced is deeper. There appears to be a culture within Scottish government, both local and central, both current administrations and previous administrations, where the rules can be bent in favour of developers like Mr Trump and against communities like ours. That can perhaps be fixed, which is why I am calling for a full public inquiry into all of Scottish officialdom's dealings with the Trump organisation back to 2005. It's time for the truth to be established. No other community in Scotland should ever have to put up with the kind of treatment local people here have gone through over the past seven years."
The timescale would cover former first minister Jack McConnell's Labour-led Scottish Executive, Alex Salmond's SNP administration and Aberdeenshire Council, which was controlled at the time by Liberal Democrats.
The planning application was initially rejected by a local authority committee, causing turmoil among councillors, and was controversially called in by the Scottish Government. The First Minister became local MSP for the area in 2007. The plan was subsequently rubber stamped by the council, then approved by Finance Secretary John Swinney in November 2008.
Sarah Malone, executive vice president of Trump International Golf Links, said: "David Milne's allegations are nonsense. His views are not representative of the hundreds of thousands of people who live in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire.
"The project has always enjoyed tremendous local support and thousands of local golfers flocked to play the course this season. We opened this summer with phenomenal success and glowing international reviews. The golf course development has enhanced the area and environment immeasurably, and brought thousands of overseas visitors to the north east of Scotland, providing a major boost to the leisure and tourism industry."
