Last week, Mr Salmond was acquitted of all 14 assault charges, including one of attempted rape and another of intent to rape, by majority verdicts, following an 11-day trial at the high court in Edinburgh.Sources close to him told the Daily Mail that Mr Salmond now wants to lead a “re-energised drive” to break away from the rest of the UK, as he thinks Scottish independence is “going nowhere” under Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Mr Salmond is believed to be planning to run for the party’s leadership on a “dream ticket” with SNP MP Joanna Cherry, a barrister who led a legal bid to use the Scottish courts to block Brexit last year.

Until two weeks ago, Ms Sturgeon was determined to hold a second referendum on independence in 2020, despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson repeatedly rejecting her calls.

However, because of the coronavirus pandemic gripping the world, the Scottish Government said it would “simply not be wise” to have a campaign at this time.

As uncertainty over the future of the union continues, unearthed reports reveal how US President Donald Trump brutally criticised Mr Salmond and his government in 2014.

According to a Daily Mail report, six years ago Mr Trump described the Scottish government as “small-minded and parochial” and labelled Mr Salmond a “has-been'” after losing a legal battle against an offshore wind farm being built in the view from his Scottish golf resort.

The American firebrand had wanted to block plans for an 11-turbine scheme in the bay off the coast near the Trump International Golf Links at the Menie Estate in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire.

Scottish Government ministers had approved proposals for the wind farm in 2013, but Mr Trump said it would spoil the view from his luxury golf links – and argued that ministers were wrong to give the project the green light.

He took his objection to the scheme to the Supreme Court in London in October 2014, where his lawyers argued that the consent for the £230million European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre was unlawful, but his challenge was later dismissed.

A spokesman for the Trump Organisation said the fight “was not over”.

George Sorial, executive vice president of the Trump Organisation told the publication: “This is an extremely unfortunate verdict for the residents of Aberdeen and anyone who cares about Scotland’s economic future.

“The European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre will completely destroy the bucolic Aberdeen Bay and cast a terrible shadow upon the future of tourism for the area.

“History will judge those involved unfavorably and the outcome demonstrates the foolish, small minded and parochial mentality which dominates the current Scottish Government’s dangerous experiment with wind energy.”

JUST IN: Noam Chomsky reveals how COVID-19 crisis could have been prevented

He added: “We will evaluate the court’s decision and continue to fight this proposal on every possible front.”

Mr Trump also labelled former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond a “has-been” after the former SNP leader said the future US President was a “three-time loser” who had “at best postponed and at worst jeopardised” a £200 million economic boost from the offshore project.

Mr Salmond attacked Mr Trump for failing to live up to promises on the economic benefits of the Aberdeenshire course and for denying Scotland the chance of hosting the Open Championship at his second Scottish course at Turnberry in South Ayrshire.

The former MP for Gordon said: “As First Minister, I was cited in Trump’s legal action.

“Now that it is concluded, I am free to speak my mind on the damaging impact of his interventions on the Scottish economy.

“First, he has failed to meet the claims he made for the Menie estate golf complex.

“He has created a fine golf course but it does not even have a permanent clubhouse at present, far less the claims of thousands of jobs and billions of investment.

“He has submitted further plans this year but we are now seven years into the project with very slow progress.

DON’T MISS:
Italian doctor hits out at Britain’s coronavirus ‘half measures’ [EXCLUSIVE]
How Jeremy Corbyn FINALLY owned up to the ‘many mistakes’ he made [INSIGHT]
Vote Leave insider thanks Barack Obama for referendum victory [REVEALED]

“Second, by his unacceptable behaviour he has condemned Turnberry, one of the outstanding golf courses on the planet, and the scene of two of the greatest Open Championships since the war, to Open Championship oblivion.

“There is no way the R&A will go near the Ayrshire course while Trump is in charge.

“As a result, Scotland stands to lose the £100 million economic return from a Turnberry Open.

“Third, this delay in the offshore wind demonstrator is deeply damaging to Scotland’s hopes of being on the cutting edge of that new technology.”

Responding to Mr Salmond’s comments, a spokesman for the Trump Organisation added: “Does anyone care what this man thinks?

“He’s a has-been and totally irrelevant.

“The fact that he doesn’t even know what’s going on in his own constituency says it all.

“We have a permanent clubhouse and the business is flourishing.

“He should go back to doing what he does best – unveiling pompous portraits of himself that pander to his already overinflated ego.”

Judges ruled against Mr Trump’s objections to the project, saying the turbines would have yielded enough electricity to power 68,000 UK households over a year.

Mr Trump opened the Trump International Golf Links on the Menie Estate in 2012 after a string of clashes with Scottish environmentalists and homeowners, before falling foul of Mr Salmond.

However, he halted plans for an expansion of the course and associated facilities after Scottish Ministers approved the offshore wind farm.

Mr Trump’s bid for a judicial review of the wind farm consent was first dismissed in February 2013.

Source: Read Full Article