🔗 Share this article

The British administration is being urged to "step up" and cover the £24.5m expense incurred during recent trips by Donald Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Significant Provisional Costs Revealed

Preliminary expenses amounting to almost £24.5 million for the pair of working visits have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both trips were clearly official, noting that the US president held meetings with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his summer visit in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Related Policing Costs

Donald Trump visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in the summer, while US vice-president Vance spent around a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, particularly Police Scotland."

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit alone was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the VP's visit were about £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

This complex policing operation was the biggest in Scotland since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and included regional police, specialist units, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for costs incurred in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the following trip of VP JD Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this decision and provide complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The British administration stated that the trips were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood must cover policing costs in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the UK government reimbursed the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that trip came after a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it covered security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir meeting with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with them, engaging in international business with him, its really hard to believe to say this was just a personal vacation."