Policing across Scotland will be "seriously affected" by the visit of US President Donald Trump, the head of a police body has said. Mr Trump is expected to touch down in Scotland on Friday ahead of a four-day stay at his golf clubs in South Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire.
The president - whose mother was born on the Isle of Lewis before emigrating to America - will meet with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Labour) during the visit, as well as Scottish First Minister John Swinney. The policing operation required to handle both the visit and any protests that may spring up as a result of it will be huge, with Police Scotland seeking officers from other areas of the UK for support.
Response times could double
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland on Wednesday, David Kennedy, the general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation - the body which represents rank-and-file police officers - said: "Anyone who says it won't affect it (policing in Scotland), I can't believe that's the case. It will affect it."
Kennedy warned that response times could dramatically increase during the presidential visit. "You may be waiting in the past for so many hours for a police officer to arrive, that could double now, you may be waiting for more time for them to arrive," he said.
Communities across Scotland affected
He emphasised that whilst emergency calls will take priority, the impact will be felt nationwide. "Obviously, emergency calls will take priority, but it will affect communities in Scotland," Kennedy said. "We've been asking long and weary to have more police officers in our communities in Scotland and all this does is take them away from that at this time."
Asked if the quality of policing will be impacted by the visit, Kennedy was unequivocal. "It will be seriously affected, it has to be," he added. "There's not enough police officers for it not to be affected."
Funding talks ongoing
Concerns have also been raised about the cost of the policing operation, with officers likely to cancel rest days to ensure adequate staffing. But speaking to the PA news agency on Tuesday, Swinney said talks are ongoing between Police Scotland and the Scottish and UK governments on funding, asserting that policing in Scotland will not be put in a "detrimental position" as a result.
Kennedy also reiterated calls from Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond for those seeking to protest to do so peacefully. "All I would ask is for protesters to remember the police officers that are there to protect them, make sure that any protests are safe and are free from violence, that is all the police officers want," he said.
Call for peaceful protests
"We are used to policing protests in this country, we do it very well, and I hope the protesters realise that police officers in Scotland are friendly and we just want people and the public to be safe," Kennedy concluded.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
