Thousands have taken to the streets of Edinburgh in a second day of protests against Donald Trump’s UK visit.
The US president arrived at his Trump Turnberry resort in Ayrshire on Friday evening for “two days of meetings, calls and hopefully, some golf”.
Mr Trump is in Scotland with his wife and family on a private visit ahead of his summit with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on Monday.
About 10,000 were expected at the demonstration in Scotland’s capital.
Protesters are walking from the Scottish parliament to the Meadows for a “carnival of resistance”.
Hundreds more gathered as close as they were allowed at Turnberry, where lines of police officers ringed the resort.
Mr Trump – whose mother was Scottish – and members of his family are spending the weekend at the hotel he bought in 2014 before departing on Sunday for the meeting with the Russian leader in Finland the following day.
The president’s visit to Scotland has been accompanied by a major security operation.
Police snipers are positioned on tiers of temporary scaffolding overlooking the golf course, with a large number of other officers patrolling the grounds and surrounding area.
Just as Mr Trump entered the resort on Friday evening, a paragliding protester breached a no-fly zone, coming close to the hotel.
The aircraft held a banner reading: “Trump: well below par #resist”.
Police have confirmed that they are trying to trace the individual involved.
The stunt was reportedly staged by Greenpeace.
Ben Stewart, a spokesman for the organisation, told the BBC: “It wasn’t dangerous at all. We let the police know about 10 or 15 minutes before that we were coming in.
“We phoned them, we had someone on the police line who informed them. We thought it was important that the president actually saw a real-life protester.
“There’s tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of people on the streets around the UK.”
Police insisted they wanted to strike a balance between “protection and public safety and the public’s right to peacefully protest”.
The Edinburgh event is also featuring the giant Trump Baby balloon, which was banned from both Turnberry and Holyrood.
Thousands of people protested in London on Friday against Mr Trump’s UK visit.
Protesters also filled George Square in Glasgow ahead of his arrival in Scotland.
However, the UK government’s International Trade Secretary Liam Fox told BBC Breakfast that the anti-Trump campaigners were “an embarrassment to themselves”.
He believed that the large scale protests in London and other cities on Friday “did not reflect the genuine good manners and hospitality of the British people”.
Mr Trump flew to Prestwick on Friday evening after earlier meeting Prime Minister Theresa May and The Queen.
Speaking at talks at Chequers, Mr Trump said a US-UK trade deal “will absolutely be possible”, hours after he told The Sun Theresa May’s Brexit plan could kill an agreement.
Mr Trump has often spoken of his love for Scotland and its people and had been a regular visitor to the country for many years, but this is his first trip since becoming the US leader.
The president and his wife Melania waved as they left Air Force One shortly after arriving at Prestwick, before being taken away in a huge convoy of black vehicles for the 20-mile journey to Turnberry.
People in the Ayrshire village of Maybole took to the streets to watch the presidential motorcade pass through en route from Prestwick Airport to Turnberry.
Mr Trump was greeted by Scottish Secretary David Mundell, who said the visit was an “opportunity to strengthen those vital links” between the UK and USA.
Mr Trump is not expected to meet First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who has been a vocal critic of the president.
Ms Sturgeon will lead thousands of marchers at the Pride Glasgow march on Saturday.
As well as the protest in George Square in Glasgow on Friday evening, anti-Trump campaigners also gathered in Dundee, while further protests are targeting his Turnberry and Menie golf courses as well as the US consulate in Edinburgh.
Mr Trump is due to leave Scotland on Sunday, when he will travel to Finland ahead of talks with the Russian president.
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Source: BBC
