🔗 Share this article

The British administration is being urged to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5 million 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 costs totalling almost £24.5 million for the two working visits have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee described the Westminster's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were clearly work-related, pointing out that the US president held discussions with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in the northern nation.

Details of the Visits and Associated Policing Costs

The former president toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie over a week-long trip in the summer, while US vice-president Vance spent approximately four days in Ayrshire in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government estimates that the estimated expense for securing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the VP's visit were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the largest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved local officers, specialist units, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for expenses incurred in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President JD Vance, I am writing you to request that you review this stance and offer full reimbursement for the expense of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

The UK government maintained that the trips were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "Holyrood are responsible for policing costs in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison referenced past instances where the UK government reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is understood that trip followed a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it covered protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with the president, having press conferences with him, conducting global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."