🔗 Share this article

The British administration is being urged to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5m cost incurred during recent trips by former President Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a top Scottish minister.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Provisional expenses amounting to nearly £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the Westminster's refusal to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both visits were obviously work-related, pointing out that the US president held discussions with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his July visit in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Visits and Associated Policing Costs

Donald Trump toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie over a five-day trip in July, while US vice-president JD Vance spent approximately a long weekend in Ayrshire in late summer.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the trips placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, especially Police Scotland."

The Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for policing the president's trip by itself was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3 million.

Complex Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the largest in the country since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "After your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs incurred in connection with the trip of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of VP Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this stance and offer complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The UK government stated that the visits were personal and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "The Scottish government are responsible for policing costs in the country as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced past instances where the British administration reimbursed the expense of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is believed that visit came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it covered protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Particularly when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with him, conducting international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a private holiday trip."