Donald Trump accused of 'blackmailing' Scotland with £700m investment withdrawal threat

The creator of a e-petition calling for Donald Trump to be banned from entering the UK has accused the US presidential candidate of "blackmailing" Scotland over his threats to withdraw investment.

Trump has said he will pull as much as £700m ($1bn) worth of funding to Scotland if he is banned from entering the UK after a Parliamentary e-petition attracted more than 550,000 signatures.

The petition was triggered after Trump said he would an impose a "total and complete shutdown" of Muslims entering the United States" if he was elected president. David Cameron was just one of a number of people speak out against Trump's comments, calling them "divisive, stupid and wrong". Trump defended his comments by suggesting there are places in London where police officers "are scared for their lives" because of radicalisation.

MPs are set to debate banning Trump from entering the UK at Westminster Hall on 18 January, but the UK government has already signalled they oppose such a move.

In response to the threat of a ban, The Trump Organization said the tycoon would cease funding to his two Scottish golf courses, Turnberry resort in South Ayrshire and Trump International Golf Links outside Aberdeen.

The Trump Organization said banning the 69-year-old would set a "dangerous precedent" as it would alienate millions of US citizens.

In a statement the company added: "The Trump Organization has plans to invest more than £200m into the development of the iconic Trump Turnberry resort. Our work there has been widely supported by the local community and created hundreds of jobs for the region.

"Over the coming years, we intend to further develop Trump Turnberry and invest millions more at the site, creating sustained economic growth for South Ayrshire and Scotland. Additionally, we have plans to invest £500m towards further development at the 1,400-acre Trump International Golf Links.

"Any action to restrict travel would force The Trump Organisation to immediately end these and all future investments we are currently contemplating in the United Kingdom. Westminster would create a dangerous precedent and send a terrible message to the world that the United Kingdom opposes free speech and has no interest in attracting inward investment."

Suzanne Kelly, the campaigner who created the petition, said Trump has "thrown a temper tamptrum" over the issue. She told the BBC: "Donald Trump is a man that knows the cost of everything – well, a hugely inflated cost of everything – and the value of nothing.

"He's threatening Scotland once again, as he did over the offshore wind farms, that if he is barred from entering the UK, he'll pull out of his Scottish golf courses. The irony of a man who wants to ban Muslims from entering the US throwing a temper tantrum over being similarly banned himself is apparent to everyone except the tycoon himself."