🔗 Share this article

The UK government is being urged to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5m cost incurred during recent trips by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Preliminary costs amounting to nearly £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's refusal to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both visits were obviously official, pointing out that the US president held discussions with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Visits and Associated Security Expenses

Donald Trump toured his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie over a five-day period in the summer, while American VP Vance spent around a long weekend in Ayrshire in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially Police Scotland."

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit by itself was £21m, which reflected maximum daily assignments of more than 4,000 officers, while expenses for the VP's visit were about £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

This complex security mission was the biggest in Scotland since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and included regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

Robison wrote: "After your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for expenses incurred in relation to the trip of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the following visit of Vice-President JD Vance, I am writing you to request that you review this decision and offer complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Reply and Previous Example

The UK government stated that the visits were personal and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "The Scottish government must cover policing costs in Scotland as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the British administration covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that trip came after a official invitation from Westminster, in which case it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a official trip … Particularly when you have the PM Sir Keir spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with him, engaging in international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a private holiday trip."