Imagine that,

A growing number of politicians across Scotland have backed calls to bar Donald Trump from entering Scotland and the UK in the wake of recent violence in Washington DC, describing him as a “dangerous criminal” who should face prosecution.

At least four MSPs across three parties have now supported an outright ban on the outgoing US president from flying into the country, intensifying the pressure on home secretary Priti Patel to stop Mr Trump from travelling here.

The warnings are especially acute during the coronavirus pandemic, with one MSP warning that Mr Trump would be putting rural communities at risk were he to visit in coming weeks.

Others, however, said once the pandemic is over, it should remain Mr Trump’s right to visit his Scottish properties, despite the fact he is a “dangerous man”.

Scotland’s health secretary Jeane Freeman said that if Mr Trump ignored the warnings to stay away, the Scottish Government “would use every power available to it to protect the health of its citizens”.

It comes amid fever pitch debate in the US over the removal of Mr Trump from office and fears over further violent flashpoints.

Despite widespread speculation to the contrary, sources at Mr Trump’s Scottish firms said there were no plans for him to visit in the near future.

But in the aftermath of Wednesday’s Capitol riots, Humza Yousaf, the justice secretary, wrote to Ms Patel urging her to make an exclusion order against Mr Trump on the grounds that his presence would not be conducive to the public good.

Home Office guidelines state that exclusions on non-conducive grounds mean that it is undesirable to admit the person entry “because they pose a threat to UK society”. It applies to conduct both in the UK and overseas.