PA MediaPrime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is meeting US President Donald Trump at the start of a day’s talks in Scotland.
The two met at Trump’s golf resort in South Ayrshire on the third full day of the US president’s private visit to Scotland.
They will then travel together to Aberdeen for a further private engagement. Trump will use the visit to open a second course at his Menie resort.
Meanwhile, First Minister John Swinney has said he will use his meeting with the president to make the case for cutting tariffs on Scotch whisky.
Swinney is expected to join Trump and Starmer for dinner on Monday evening.
Speaking on Breakfast, the first minister said he would press the president to exempt Scotch whisky from US trade tariffs.
He said the uniqueness of whisky distilled in Scotland justified the exemption from the 10% tariff applied on UK exports into the US.
He said tariffs were currently costing the local whisky industry £4m a week.
Swinney said: “Tariffs are very important for the Scottish economy and obviously Scotch whisky is a unique product.
“It can only be produced in Scotland. It’s not a product that can be produced in any other part of the world. So there’s a uniqueness about that, which I think means there is a case for it to be taken out of the tariffs arrangement that is now in place.
“Obviously the trade deal with the United States provides a degree of stability for economic connections with the United States, but the application of tariffs is increasing the costs for the Scotch whisky industry.”
ReutersSwinney also said he will seek to ensure President Trump knows the “strength of feeling” in Scotland over the humanitarian situation in Gaza when they meet.
President Trump arrived in Scotland on Friday evening, with Air Force One touching down at Glasgow Prestwick Airport before his entourage travelled to nearby Turnberry.
He has since spent two days at Turnberry, playing golf with friends and guests in what has been billed as a private visit.
A high-level security operation was ramped up over the weekend, but public protests were limited to a handful of individuals at Turnberry while the main anti-Trump demonstrations in Aberdeen and Edinburgh on Saturday passed off largely peacefully.
The first minister said the final cost of the policing the visit has yet to be worked out, but his government was “working very closely” with Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority and the UK government.
He said: “The security arrangements have gone well since President Trump arrived on Friday, and that’s as it should be, because we’ve got an obligation to make sure that when we have major international visitors, when they come to Scotland, that they are protected and able to go about their activities.
“It’s also important that members of the public who wish to express their point of view, who want to protest about the visit or about other issues, are able to go about their exercise of their democratic right to protest. That’s exactly what they’ve been able to do since Friday, and that’s the way it should be.”
Trump hosted a meeting with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at Turnberry on Sunday, where they agreed a new transatlantic trade deal.
After shaking hands on the deal, Trump said: “It’s going to bring us closer together… it’s a partnership in a sense.”
Von der Leyen also hailed it as a “huge deal”, which came after “tough negotiations”.
The agreement sets the US tariffs on goods from the European Union at 15% across the board.
It had been facing a 30% levy on its exports to the US from 1 August.
President Trump will travel back to Washington on Tuesday and is due to return to the UK for an official state visit in September.
