EXCL Donald Trump’s flagship international resort claimed up to half a million pounds in UK taxpayers’ money via a Covid-19 job fund - despite making scores of redundancies during the pandemic. Union officials are demanding a govt investigation. Thread https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/donald-trumps-firm-claims-up-to-ps500000-via-covid-19-job-fund-despite-axing-staff-3221186

Trump’s UK firms have received as much as £575,000 via the UK Govt’s job retention scheme, though the data compiled and published by HMRC to date only spans Dec ‘20 and Jan ‘21, meaning the total claim is likely to be significantly higher.

At least £110,000 of the public funding was claimed while Trump was still in situ in the White House.

The so-called furlough scheme is designed to ensure employers can retain and continue to pay staff amid the ruinous economic effects of Covid-19. Despite claiming hundreds of thousands of pounds, the Trump Org wielded the axe to its Scottish workforce.

The @RMTunion said at least 66 jobs have been lost at Turnberry since last summer. It described the Trump Org’s use of the Covid-19 job retention payment scheme as an “abuse” of the system.

Mick Cash, the union’s general secretary, told me: “It is clear to us that at the very least the principles of the job retention scheme appear to have been breached by the Trump Organisation, and that should now be subjected to a detailed and forensic investigation by HMRC.”

Scottish Labour’s @votecolinsmyth, who has raised questions about Turnberry’s redundancies in the Scottish Parliament, said: “It’s appalling that Trump has been getting bailouts from the UK government on one hand while handing out redundancy notices to workers with the other.”

The full amount of money claimed by the Trump Org via various Scottish and UK Covid-19 schemes is unclear, but Trump’s resorts, like all hospitality venues, are currently exempt from business rates thanks to a Scottish Govt mitigation scheme, saving him circa £880,000 a year.

This issue has sparked widespread concern in the US, where ethics watchdogs expressed unease at the Trump Org’s solicitation of Covid-19 funding from an overseas administration (provisions in the Congress mean Trump's firms are largely unable to access US pandemic relief funds)

. @waltshaub, a former director of @OfficeGovEthics, told me: “I can't imagine the UK citizenry would be any more happy than a majority of US citizens were about tax dollars propping up an American president's business interests. It's a disgrace to the very concept of democracy"

. @AREvers from @weareoversight told me: “By linking his business and the power of the presidency, Trump made it impossible for governments to interact with the Trump Organisation without a conflict of interest or fear of reprisal looming over policy decisions.”

. @CREWcrew’s Jordan Libowitz said: “The fact Trump got funds to prevent layoffs after laying off staff only raises further Qs. There have long been Qs about Trump and govt aid, stretching back to millions for hurricane damage to Mar-a-Lago that no one can remember happening.”

I asked the Trump Org for comment, and for a breakdown of precisely how much its Scottish subsidiary entities claimed via the UK Government's job retention scheme between March and December last year. It did not respond.

I'll be pursuing this. In the meantime, my DMs are open if you have a tip about this, or any other related issue. Thanks for reading.