Lib Dems urge probe into Trump golf course lobbying claims

The Liberal Democrats are calling for an official probe into whether the government lobbied on behalf of Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf course to host the Open Championship, according to multiple sources. The party argues ministers may have linked the hosting decision to personal or foreign interests, and says a new ethics body due to launch next month should examine the episode.

Turnberry, a course in Ayrshire, has been owned by Trump since 2014 and has publicly pressed for the Open Championship to be staged there in 2028. BBC reporting earlier this year indicated the government asked the R&A for its view on the matter. Calum Miller, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, addressed the party conference in Bournemouth and urged that the ethics commission be used to scrutinize the Turnberry lobbying.

Miller framed the issue as a test of whether public life is protected from foreign influence, and he called on the government to refer Turnberry lobbying as the first case for the new commission. He also criticized Labour for seeking to appease Trump.

The government has not said it denied discussions about the tournament, but a prime minister’s spokesman defended the idea that contact between ministers and sporting bodies is a routine aspect of government business and does not amount to a hosting decision.

In July the government announced the creation of an Ethics and Integrity Commission intended to raise standards across public life, with officials saying the body would have an ambitious remit to uphold ethical conduct. The government has also been pressed for comment on the Turnberry lobbying claims.

Turnberry has hosted the Open Championship four times, most recently in 2009. The Open 2028 host location decision has been described by government officials as a matter for the R&A to decide, and there has been no formal commitment from UK authorities to stage the event at Turnberry.