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EXCL The publicly-owned Prestwick Airport has received more than £9m from @realDonaldTrump ’s government since Oct 2017 under a lucrative yet controversial deal with a US Defence Dept agency. My @TheScotsman investigation: scotsman.com/news/politics/… Thread follows.
Here's the print edition of my @TheScotsman story detailing, for the first time, the scale and magnitude of the multimillion pound @DeptofDefense payments to Prestwick Airport, owned by the Scottish ministers. 
3/ While Prestwick’s openly wooed foreign military custom, the @scotgov & @GPAPassenger have never disclosed how much the US Govt is paying. A contract warrants just a single paragraph in Prestwick’s 2017 accounts. But the fact is the US military is its biggest revenue source.
4/ @GPAPassenger has received £9.02m from the energy division of @DLAMIL, a Virginia-based @DeptofDefense agency which manages the global supply chain for the @usairforce, @USArmy, and @USNavy. The payments are for aviation fuel for USAF aircraft.
5/ The @DLAMIL contract specifies that the overall payments to Prestwick could reach as much as £16.9m. That contract’s due to expire in September, but I’ve learned @GPAPassenger’s set to land a new contract with the DLA, which will last until Sept 2024.
6/ I tracked down the so-called EUCOM Into-Plane defence contract at Prestwick on a US procurement site ordinarily frequented by US military contractors. It goes into quite some detail, even specifying the quantities of jet fuel being provided by the airport.
7/ All in, I found 644 separate orders for jet fuel placed by @DLAMIL to @GPAPassenger between 3 October 2017 and 23 March this year, the equivalent of more than one a day. The number creeps up almost daily.
8/ Frustratingly, there’s no detail of the types of military aircraft serviced, ot the nature of their engagement, but the payments to @GPAPassenger spiked dramatically in Oct & Nov 2018, a period of intense US airstrikes in Afghanistan & Somalia, according to @TBIJ data.
9/ @patrickharvie told me that “the sheer scale of activity uncovered by @TheScotsman is breathtaking,” and accused the @scotgov of propping up @realDonaldTrump’s “militaristic agenda.”
10/ @jackiebmsp said the extent of the @DLAMIL payments to @GPAPassenger showed “breathtaking hypocrisy” on the part of the Scottish Government and said it should disclose any other financial deals it has with the US military.
11/ Now, there’s a counter argument to the US military megabucks, of course. Especially if you want to see value for public money at an airport that’s reliant on £40m in loans to stay afloat, struggling to attract airlines, and running at a £7.6m annual loss.
12/ But there are several things which render that analysis simplistic. @GPAPassenger isn’t just an airport, it’s a public asset. If you value transparency as much as prudent public bookeeping, isn't it right we know just how much we’re coining in from a foreign government?
13/ And this isn’t any foreign government. It’s the @realDonaldTrump administration. And the money’s coming directly from a US Defence Dept agency. It is, in short, an unusual customer for @theSNP government, a notably vocal critic of Trump & his foreign policies.
14/ The @scotgov points out @GPAPassenger’s operated at arms-length, on a commercial basis, and has enjoyed military custom going back to the time Elvis touched down. All valid points, but they don’t address the fundamental ethical Qs surrounding its lucrative deal with @DLAMIL.
15/ Those Qs carry an extra weight given the fine digging and persistent FoI work by @severincarrell, who last February confirmed the @usairforce uses Prestwick for “active duty missions.” theguardian.com/politics/2018/…
16/ @NicolaSturgeon described @severincarrell's story as a”load of bunkum,” and emphasised @GPAPassenger has been doing military work for 80 years. Again this true. But again, it avoided fundamental ethical Qs surrounding US military revenue, esp aircraft on active duty.
17/ Now we know @GPAPassenger and, by extension, the public purse in Scotland has received £9m from the Trump administration, might it be an idea for the @scotgov to properly engage with the issues at Prestwick? It can surely do so without compromising commercial confidentiality
18/ One obvious Q for the @scotgov: Has it at any point been made aware since October 2017 of receiving @DLAMIL payments via @GPAPassenger to refuel USAF aircraft engaged in bombing operations and military strikes?
19/ This story is the latest I’ve written about the on/off relationship between Trump (both his business and government) and Prestwick, since it’s been under state ownership (it was put up for sale by @scotgov earlier this month).
20/ A joint press release issued by Trump Turnberry & @GPAPassenger in November 2014 referred to their “official partnership” & “strategic alliance” The relationship’s been drastically downplayed ever since.
21/ But I’ previously wrote of how Trump Turnberry was invited by @GPAPassenger to lobby a prospective airline amid attempts to return the struggling airport to profit: scotsman.com/news/politics/…
22/ I also got hold of documents showing @GPAPassenger held unminuted discussions over “potential partnership opportunities” & disclosed business development targets with Trump Turnberry: scotsman.com/business-2-150…
23/ But I’d respectfully suggest that the issue of a publicly owned asset receiving millions of pounds from one of the most controversial US administrations in living memory is more important. If you have any stories about Prestwick, or Trump in Scotland, my DMs are open.
