🔗 Share this article

The British administration is being urged to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during the recent visits by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Preliminary costs amounting to almost £24.5 million for the two working visits have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," arguing that both trips were obviously work-related, pointing out that the American leader held discussions with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Related Policing Costs

The former president visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie over a week-long period in July, while American VP Vance spent approximately a long weekend in Ayrshire in late summer.

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

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the estimated expense for policing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which involved maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This complex policing operation was the largest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included local officers, national divisions, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

Robison stated: "After your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs incurred in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to request that you reconsider this stance and provide full reimbursement for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Response and Previous Example

The UK government maintained that the trips were private and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson added: "The Scottish government must cover policing costs in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the UK government reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is understood that visit followed a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it covered security costs under its funding guidelines.

"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 PM Keir Starmer meeting with the president, holding joint briefings with him, engaging in international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."