The Prime Minister turned down a bottle of whisky gifted to him by Donald Trump during his trip to Turnberry, it has been revealed.
The two leaders met at the US President’s golf club in Ayrshire, Scotland, last month before travelling abroad Air Force One together to the US President’s Aberdeenshire golf club.
During their talks, key topics of discussion including putting into place a US-UK trade deal the two nations signed earlier this year, alongside the Middle East Crisis, with Donald Trump speaking warmly of their ‘special relationship’.
Now, it has been revealed that Sir Kier was given a bottle of ‘special edition whisky’ by the Turnberry Hotel at a cost of £140, but chose not to keep it.
When gifted items of more than £140, ministers can chose to either pay the difference between the value and £140 to buy it, or leave it with their department.
In this instance, the Prime Minister chose to let the Cabinet Office keep the liquor. He also gifted Trump’s Turnberry Hotel a golf club and book, the Prime Minister’s gifts registar has shown.
Official records have also indicated that David Lammy was gifted more than £32,000 worth of luxury items from the Crown Prince of Kuwait last month, but has chosen to hand the gifts over to the Foreign Office.
The items given to the Foreign Secretary by Sabah Khaled Al-Hamed Al-Sabah, Crown Prince of Kuwait, in July included a Chopard watch and Cartier pen, alongside FRED jewellery with an estimated value of £18,250, and £2,500 worth of perfume.
A book and tie gifted to the Prime Minister by French President Emmanuel Macron were also shown to have been held by Number 10, alongside a leather wallet received by Lady Victoria Starmer.
Sir Keir Starmer was also revealed to have accepted hospitality gifts at a cost of £1,060 from Uefa and the FA in order to be in attendance at the women’s Euros final earlier this summer.
In November last year, it was revealed that Sir Keir Starmer had stumped up more than £6,000 to pay back freebies he has received since entering Number 10.
Amid a fierce row over his and other senior Labour ministers’ acceptance of gifts, the PM revealed he would now cover the costs of tickets and other hospitality.
But Sir Keir is not paying back all the freebies he has received since taking office and will continue to accept donated football tickets.
The PM has previously argued that, while he continues to have a season ticket at Arsenal, he has been told it is unsafe for him to sit in his normal seats in the stands without a vastly expensive police presence.
The north London club will instead make arrangements for Sir Keir to watch matches from elsewhere – such as corporate hospitality seats – whenever he attends games.
In April, it was also revealed that Sir Keir had paid tax n £16,000 worth of free clothing he received from a major Labour donor as he declared a total taxable income of more than £150,000 last year.
The PM’s tax return showed how Sir Keir earned a combined £130,583 in 2023/24 in his role as an MP and Labour leader.
Adding that there was an ‘opportunity’ for the two leaders to make progress, Mr Swinney also told the US President that Scotch whisky was ‘unique’ to the nation, with the tariff acting as a ‘significant impediment’.
Swinney was at the centre of a major hypocrisy row after he pledged a donation of £180,000 of public cash for a golf tournament at one of Donald Trump’s Scottish courses.
Taxpayers were also understood to have paid the bill for rooms for John Swinney and his entourage at Donald Trump’s golf resort during the US President’s visit last month.
The billionaire’s Aberdeenshire hotel charged the First Minister and his officials for their stay, with the Scottish Government picking up the tab.
Officials refused to say how many rooms were taken or the nightly rate, but it is believed to have been hundreds of pounds.
Mr Swinney and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer flanked the President at a dinner at the five-star MacLeod House & Lodge at his Balmedie estate on July 28.
The First Minister then met Mr Trump for 20 minutes the following morning, before the President played on a new course.
