🔗 Share this article

The British administration is being urged to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5 million expense incurred during recent visits by former President Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

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

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were clearly work-related, noting that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie over a week-long period in the summer, while American VP JD Vance spent approximately a long weekend in Ayrshire in late summer.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister James 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 estimates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which involved maximum daily assignments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the VP's visit were about £3 million.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

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

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your choice not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses accrued in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this stance and provide complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration stated that the visits were personal and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government must cover security expenses in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the UK government covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is believed that visit followed a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it covered security costs under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer meeting 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 merely a private holiday trip."