🔗 Share this article

The British administration is being called upon to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5m expense incurred during the recent visits by Donald Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Significant Estimated Expenses Revealed

Preliminary expenses totalling nearly £24.5m for the pair of official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the Westminster's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," arguing that both trips were clearly official, noting 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 the northern nation.

Details of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

Donald Trump visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in July, while American VP Vance spent around four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the visits placed "significant operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

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

Complex Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the biggest in Scotland since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your choice not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in connection with the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this decision and provide complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

UK Government Response and Previous Example

The UK government maintained that the trips were personal and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government are responsible for policing costs in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison pointed to previous precedent where the British administration reimbursed the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is understood that visit followed a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it covered security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a official trip … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir meeting with the president, having press conferences with them, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."