Donald Trump’s renewed interest in Greenland has reopened fraught debates over who speaks for devolved governments abroad — and why Scotland’s own diplomatic push continues to raise political temperatures in Westminster, says George Fergusson

The status of Overseas Territories is usually an arcane issue, troubling only those directly affected or extreme nerds. But it has been thrust into the limelight by Mr Trump's rough wooing of Greenland. Territories run from being completely undevolved, like the French overseas departments such as Guadaloupe which is run as part of France itself, to places like Bermuda where I was governor 10 years ago, which has its own currency and its own immigration rules under a form of extreme devolution.

In some ways, these status issues overlap with those for devolved governments like Scotland, and their similar counterparts like US states, or German Länder. Usually for all these entities the cut-off point is that the national sovereign governments have responsibility for international relations and defence – and international relations is often an area where devolved or state government want to flex their constitutional muscles. Activities like trade and investment promotion are grey areas anyway.

Mr Trump’s pressure appears to be achieving some kind of a wedge in this respect between Greenland and Denmark - as he presumably wants. Ms Vivian Motzfelt, Greenland's external affairs minister, is reported to be........

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