Donald Trump yesterday portrayed himself as a committed environmentalist as he appeared at a public inquiry convened to consider his £1billion plan to build “the world's greatest golf course” in the north-east of Scotland.

The billionaire, famous for his extraordinary comb-over haircut and as the host of the American reality television show The Apprentice, provoked guffaws when he told the inquiry that his proposed golf resort would “enhance” rather than harm an unspoiled stretch of sand dunes on the site in Aberdeenshire.

Never one to let slip an opportunity to brag about his achievements, the 61-year-old told the inquiry: “I have received many, many environmental accolades and awards. I consider myself to be an environmentalist in the true sense of the word.”

Just a day after the easy part of his trip - posing for pictures with his Scottish cousins in a thinly veiled publicity exercise in the Outer Hebrides - the New York property mogul faced the decidedly British experience of being quizzed in a near-empty public auditorium by lawyers and local councillors.

His inquisitors included the head of the Ramblers' Association in Scotland, who suggested that his members might fancy a stroll across Mr Trump's golf course if it gets built. “Why don't you walk inland and let us have the fairways for golfers?” was the tycoon's response. “It would be a lot easier.”

On Monday the man known as “the Donald” modestly described himself as a “king” of modern television, and yesterday his four-hour performance inside the Boyd-Orr Hall, at Aberdeen's Exhibition and Conference Centre, where the scores of journalists vastly outnumbered members of the public, only confirmed that.

“My name is Donald J. Trump and I am a real-estate developer and investor from New York City,” he began, before launching into a lengthy boast about his golf courses.

“My course in Los Angeles, California, is the number-one rated course in the state of California, my course in Palm Beach, Florida, is the number-one rated course in the state of Florida, my course in Bedminster, New Jersey, is considered one of the best new courses built in many years, and my course in Westchester County is rated one of the best courses in the entire New York-Connecticut area.”

But Trump International Golf Links Scotland would, if built, he said, be better than even the Old Course at StAndrews, Carnoustie or Turnberry, and would fulfil the dream of the finest links course in the world hinted at by the first nine holes at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club. “Those dunes,” (the billionaire pronounced it ‘doons') “are much smaller than our dunes.”

Mr Trump's proposal to build two championship golf courses, a five-star hotel, 1,000 holiday homes and 500 private houses on a three-mile stretch of coastline near Balmedie, 13 miles north of Aberdeen, has been condemned by environmental groups who fear it will cause irreversible damage to a protected area of sand dunes.

Mr Trump said that he would not be prepared to move part of his course off the sand dunes, adding that this would make it a “half-assed” development.

In an unexpected blow for Mr Trump, his scheme was rejected by local councillors in November but was then rescued by the Scottish governemnt which referred it to a public inquiry. The hearing, which opened yesterday, is expected to last three weeks.

The business community claims that the resort would generate millions for the local economy. Yesterday, as well as the usual anti-Trump campaigners outside the hall, two besuited businessmen unfurled a banner proclaiming: “Support Trump”.

But by far the oddest thing was Mr Trump's declaration of his environmental credentials. By stabilising the dunes he would stop them from being “blown off the face of the earth”.

“Well, the plant life, the habitat life, the ... every aspect of life will be preserved and enhanced as we build this golf course,” he said, adding that the golf resort would also stop the current shooting of game birds on the estate at the heart of the 1,400-acre site.

The only other chink in Mr Trump's argument came when he admitted that he had not read statements to the inquiry by his own environmental advisers, or even a “non-technical” six-page summary of the environmental impact assessment for the site.

He appeared measured in his answers, and only on a few occasions came close to losing his composure, telling one councillor who questioned him: “Nobody's ever told me how to buy property before - you're the first one. I've done very well buying property. I appreciate your advice.”

Asked how he thought he was doing, he told a journalist: “I think I'm slaying them.”

In typical Trump fashion, he added afterwards: “Everyone is telling me we really knocked it out of the box.

“I've heard all the questions from the few objectors that we had, and honestly the questions weren't very good. Frankly everybody is talking about this course all over the world.”

Magnus Linklater, Opinion, page 24

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