Scottish Secretary to give Donald Trump ‘warm welcome'
Mr Murray was an opposition MP in 2019 when he supported a parliamentary motion stating that Mr Trump, then in his first term as president, should not be offered a state visit to the UK, citing his 'misogynism, racism and xenophobia'.
In an interview on BBC's Good Morning Scotland show on Thursday, Mr Murray defended his past comments and said it was the 'duty' of the Labour Government to ensure foreign dignitaries were welcomed 'in the right way'.
Opposition politicians seized on Mr Murray's 'U-turn' and accused him of taking the public 'for fools'.
Andrew Bowie, the shadow Scottish secretary, said: 'He had no credible explanation for his complete U-turn on the importance of President Trump visiting this country.
'I'm glad that Ian Murray has belatedly recognised how vital it is for Scotland to welcome, and work constructively with, the US president – but he'd have more credibility if he put his hands up and owned his past juvenile opportunism.
'No wonder the public are turned off by politics and politicians when they hear the Scottish Secretary trying to take them for fools.'
Mr Trump is set to arrive in Scotland on Friday for a five-day visit, where he is expected to visit his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire, and Menie in Aberdeenshire.
He will formally open the new 18-hole links MacLeod Course at Menie, named after his Lewis-born mother, Mary MacLeod.
Mr Trump will also meet Sir Keir Starmer and John Swinney, Scotland's First Minister.
During his BBC interview, Mr Murray was challenged over his support for an early day motion, tabled in the Commons six years ago, that called on then-prime minister Theresa May to rescind the offer of an official state visit to Mr Trump during his first term.
The motion, backed by 106 MPs, 'deplored' Mr Trump's record 'including his previous comments on women, refugees and torture and 'condemned' his 'lack of action on climate change and failure to support the Paris climate change deal'.
Asked if his view had changed since then, Mr Murray said there was 'global interest' in preserving the relationship between the UK and US.
He told the programme: 'The long historic ties, cultural ties, economic ties between the US and the UK, we are the closest allies in the world and we have to make sure we are working together for the benefit of our national interest and the benefit of the global interest as well.
Mr Murray also hinted at a potential meeting with the US president but said it had not yet been confirmed, adding: 'My predecessor, David Mundell, met with the president when he last landed in Scotland.
'It's a duty for us to make sure that we are welcoming foreign dignitaries to Scotland in the right way, particularly one that's our closest and nearest ally, both economically and [in] defence and security, and there's lots to talk about, of course.'
Mr Trump's visit to Scotland comes after activists placed at his golf course a placard that claimed the luxury resort was 'twinned with Epstein Island' and is expected to be met by protests at his resorts and in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Police from England and Northern Ireland are being drafted in to support Police Scotland amid concerns raised by the Scottish Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, that policing will be 'seriously affected'.
Mr Swinney said this week that Mr Trump's time in Scotland would not put policing in a 'detrimental position'.
The US president is due to return to the UK in September on a formal state visit during which he and his wife, Melania, will be hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle.
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