
Trump's Scotland visit will be biggest police op since Queen's funeral
Protests are expected but police do not know where or by how many people yet.
READ NEXT: Police prepared for Glasgow protests during Donald Trumps visit to Scotland
President Trump is expected to visit his golf resort in Aberdeenshire and possibly Turnberry in Ayrshire.
As well as the locations he will visit, police are planning for the possibility of large protests in cities including Glasgow.
ACC Emma Bond, Gold Commander for the operation, was asked if it was the biggest operation since the Queen's funeral in 2022.
She said: 'I think it probably is.'
(Image: Colin Mearns)
The officer said she has been focused on delivery but said it was a significant operation involving officers from across the UK.
READ NEXT: Irish republican march to go ahead in Glasgow next month
ACC Bond was not prepared to go into the exact number of officers or the cost of policing the visit.
She said: 'It is a large-scale complex operation.
'We will use a combination of local officers, officers from our national divisions, we are also making use of our special constables as part of our deployments and for some of the specialisms we have also asked for support from wider UK policing colleagues.
'The key is to make sure the President of the United States can come and enjoy a peaceful and safe visit to Scotland and ensure that Police Scotland is able to maintain delivery of services to the rest of the communities in Scotland over the period of his visit.'
Operation Unicorn, the Scottish element to the Queen's funeral was deployed because she died at Balmoral, cost more than £15m and 15,000 officers were deployed in the days between the late Queen's death and the funeral, which involved events in Scotland.
She said there are multiple venues factored into the policing plan.
ACC Bond added: 'This will become a significant cost and we are working with Scottish and UK Government colleagues.'
'Specifics of the schedule are for the White House to determine. I'm confident we have a plan in place to balance peaceful protest and manage disruption to the wider public.'

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Telegraph
10 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Scottish Tories eye Reform electoral pact
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In Scotland, Reform now has 15 councillors, 14 of whom used to be Conservatives. It is in marked contrast to other political parties previously run by Mr Farage, such as the UK Independence Party (Ukip), which struggled to get a foothold north of border. One Tory MSP has privately spoken of a defection 'watch list' in Holyrood of those suspected of switching to Reform. Mr Farage also waved away the idea he would agree to any such pact, telling The Telegraph: 'No chance. The Tories are dying in Scotland and I've got no desire to do a deal with them whatsoever.' The idea of some form of agreement, public or private, between the Conservatives and Reform has become a common discussion point in Westminster. Average UK-wide voting polls have Reform in first place on 30 per cent of the vote, with the Tories in a distant third on 17 per cent. Labour is in second place on 22 per cent. 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The National
31 minutes ago
- The National
Consent for gigantic wind farm is an ironic act of ecocide
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39 minutes ago
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