🔗 Share this article

The UK government is being urged to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5m expense incurred during recent trips by Donald Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Provisional Costs Revealed

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

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's unwillingness to offer financial support as "ridiculous," arguing that both trips were obviously official, noting that the US president held meetings with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his July stay in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Associated Security Expenses

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in the summer, while US vice-president JD Vance spent around four days in Ayrshire in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit alone was £21 million, which reflected maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were about £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

This extensive security mission was the largest in the country since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, specialist units, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for expenses incurred in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip 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."

Westminster Response and Past Precedent

The UK government stated that the visits were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative added: "The Scottish government are responsible for security expenses in Scotland as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the British administration covered the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is believed that trip followed a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster 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 Donald Trump, having press conferences with him, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."