John Swinney holds breakfast talks with ambassador Lord Peter Mandelson embroiled in Jeffrey Epstein row
An SNP minister has fuelled speculation the First Minister could hold talks with US President Donald Trump.
First Minister John Swinney will hold a breakfast meeting with the UK’s Ambassador to the United States, who is embroiled in a controversy linked to convicted financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr Swinney’s meeting with Lord Mandelson, who the First Minister is staying with while in the United States for whisky tariff talks in Washington, comes amid reports the ambassador called the late convicted paedophile Epstein his "best pal".
The letter from Lord Mandelson to Epstein is contained in an apparent “birthday book" that has been released by US lawmakers. In the message to mark Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003, Lord Mandelson described him as an "intelligent, sharp-witted man" who "parachuted" into his life.
A spokesperson for Lord Mandelson said he "has long been clear that he very much regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein".
Mr Swinney will hold a breakfast meeting with Lord Mandelson before embarking on meetings on Capitol Hill and at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate amid speculation he could hold talks with US President Donald Trump.
A spokesperson for the First Minister could not confirm or deny the Epstein allegations would be raised by the First Minister with Lord Mandelson during the visit.
Speculation has ramped up that Mr Swinney is poised to sit down with the US President after SNP External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson told the BBC the First Minister would be “meeting the people who are going to be intimately involved in setting tariff rates and considering whether there should be an exemption for Scotch whisky”.
The First Minister’s spokesperson declined to confirm or deny Mr Swinney was braced for talks with Mr Trump, telling journalists: “I don't want to get into a yes or no about the schedule.”
Asked if the First Minister would welcome a meeting with Mr Trump, his spokesperson said: “The First Minister previously had two very constructive meetings with the president when he was in Scotland earlier this year.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said Mr Swinney would “undertake a series of trade and political meetings involving both US political parties”.
She added: “It starts with a breakfast meeting with the ambassador, Lord Peter Mandelson, and senior officials directly involved in the trade talks.
“Following that meeting with Lord Mandelson, the First Minister will join a delegation from the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), including their chief executive Mark Kent and the managing director of Harris distillers, Simon Erlanger.
“They will meet with US distillers organisation, Discus, to make common cause on the tariff issue. That will be held at Mount Vernon, which is the home of US founding father George Washington and the site of a whiskey distillery that he owned.
“Later in the day, the First Minister and the SWA will meet key members of Congress on Capitol Hill to better promote a tariff deal for Scotch whisky.”
In a video posted on social media, Mr Swinney said the aim of the visit was to "try to get a better deal for the industry as a result of the tariffs that are now in place”.
He said: “The whisky industry is so important in Scotland, it employs 20,000 people - but the tariffs are costing about £4 million a week. That’s obviously going to have an effect on jobs and investment in Scotland.
“My job as First Minister is to support the industry to try and get the best deal we possibly can. That’s what I’m out here to do - to use every opportunity to try to support Scotch whisky and to make sure we’re supporting jobs and investment back home in Scotland.”
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