It was easy, say Greenpeace activists who breached security cordon
A SECURITY breach at Donald Trump’s Turnberry hotel led to one of Greenpeace’s most senior activists being allowed to stay the night there after filming a protesting paraglider from the campaign group mocking the US president.
The Daily Telegraph can disclose that Rachel Murray, the environmental group’s UK actions director for 20 years, checked into the South Ayrshire resort using her married name.
She helped film the paraglider as he hovered shockingly close to Mr Trump during the stunt on Friday evening.
Greenpeace posted the footage on social media that evening, with the film clearly shot by someone standing at the front of the hotel close to Mr Trump and his entourage.
However, despite a heavy security operation for Mr Trump’s Scottish visit costing taxpayers £5 million, Ms Murray was not asked to leave the hotel until the following day.
Greenpeace yesterday expressed surprise “at how easy it all was”.
The details of the breach emerged after Scottish police finally announced an arrest yesterday morning, more than 36 hours after the paraglider managed to escape.
A 55-year-old man was charged in connection with the stunt.
He is expected to appear at Ayr Sheriff Court today and a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.
The arrest was announced as Mr Trump played a round of golf in drizzly weather on Turnberry’s Ailsa course.
The president and Melania, his wife, left Scotland on Air Force One bound for Helsinki, where he is to hold a summit with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, today.
But shocked US officials questioned how the paraglider was allowed to get so close to the president and how Greenpeace could so easily access Trump Turnberry.
As he floated by, the paraglider held a banner that read: “Trump, well below par #Resist.”
He circled three times before flying away and managed to elude security forces after landing.
Tom Buchan, a former chief superintendent of Strathclyde Police, said the breach was “deeply embarrassing” for Police Scotland and predicted a major inquiry would be launched.
Will Geddes, an international security specialist, said he would have asked the hotel for a list of guests and looked for people with “the potential to embarrass and humiliate the president”.
But Ben Spencer, a Greenpeace spokesman, told The Sunday Post that the activists who checked into the hotel had been searched “but apart from that there was nothing”.
A spokesman told The Telegraph that she “was staying at the hotel on Friday night, filmed some of our footage, and was asked to leave on Saturday”.
He said she used her married name and refused to comment on the arrest.