A local official in Scotland shot down Trump's claim that Sean Connery intervened to get his Scottish golf course approved

• President Donald Trump's claim that Sean Connery stepped in to help him win approval for a Scottish golf course in 2007 has fallen apart, according to The Guardian.
• In a tweeted tribute, Trump said that he had had trouble securing planning permission, but that the late actor had "stepped in and shouted, 'Let him build the damn thing.'"
• No such event happened, the local official who oversaw the planning permission process at the time told The Guardian.
• Connery was supportive of the project after approval was given, according to British newspaper The Daily Express.
• Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said of the president's tweets: "This [is] not a time for tweeting silly claims," according to Scottish newspaper The National.

A local official in Scotland has quashed a claim by President Donald Trump that late actor Sean Connery personally helped him get approval for his golf course there, The Guardian reported.

Connery "stepped in" to help secure the approval of Trump International Golf Links Aberdeenshire in Aberdeenshire in 2007, Trump claimed, in a tweeted tribute following news of the actor's death on Saturday.

But that claim has been shot down by Martin Ford, who was then chair of the local planning committee overseeing the decision, according to The Guardian. A neighbor, David Milne, who has fiercely resisted the development, also told The Guardian the claim was "utter bollocks."

On Saturday, Trump wrote in a pair of tweets: "I was having a very hard time getting approvals for a big development in Scotland when Sean stepped in and shouted, 'Let him build the damn thing.'

"That was ... all I needed, everything went swimmingly from there," he wrote, adding that "years of future turmoil was avoided," by the move.

Trump also said Connery "was a great actor and an even greater man."

The luxury development — including holiday homes, the golf course and a hotel — had initially been refused permission locally until the decision was overturned by the Scottish government, giving Trump the go-ahead.

However, Ford told The Guardian that Connery "was not involved" in that. He added that Connery had not written to the council in support, nor had appeared at the planning hearing or the local inquiry.

Connery was supportive of the development, however. In 2008 he said, "I look forward to seeing a new gem in the north-east that is good for Aberdeenshire and good for Scotland."

Alex Salmond, who was Scottish First Minister at the time, branded Trump's claims "silly," according to Scottish newspaper The National.

He said: "Sean Connery's contribution and life's work was immense, real and lasting and everyone with an ounce of class is reflecting upon just that today. Tributes are great from all sources but this [is] not a time for tweeting silly claims or indeed responding to them."

Connery was supportive of the project after the approval. In 2008, British newspaper The Daily Express quoted him as saying of it: "During tough economic times, this is a major vote of confidence in Scotland's tourist industry and our ability to rise to the challenge.

"I look forward to seeing a new gem in the north-east that is good for Aberdeenshire and good for Scotland."

However, any comments to the press even prior to the decision would not have been taken into account, Ford told The Guardian.

"Opinions offered in press articles are not material considerations in decisions on planning applications," he said.

• Read more:
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• Celebrities and public figures share tributes, memories of Sean Connery after the 'James Bond' star died at 90
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