🔗 Share this article

The UK government is being urged to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during recent visits by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Significant Estimated Expenses Revealed

Provisional costs totalling almost £24.5m for the two official trips have been published by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both trips were clearly official, pointing out that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his July visit in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Related Policing Costs

Donald Trump toured his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long trip in the summer, while US vice-president Vance spent approximately four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the visits placed "significant operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, especially Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for policing the president's trip alone was £21m, which reflected maximum daily assignments of more than 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Large-Scale Security Mission

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

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs accrued in relation to the trip of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the following visit of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to request that you reconsider this stance and provide full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration stated that the visits were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "Holyrood must cover security expenses in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the British administration reimbursed the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that visit followed a formal invitation from Westminster, in which case it included protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a work visit … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with him, conducting global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a private holiday trip."