🔗 Share this article

The British administration is being called upon to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5 million cost incurred during the recent trips by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Provisional costs totalling almost £24.5 million for the two official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee labeled the Westminster's refusal to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both visits were obviously work-related, pointing out that the American leader held meetings with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Security Expenses

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

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially Police Scotland."

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip alone was £21m, which involved maximum daily assignments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Complex Security Mission

This complex policing operation was the biggest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved local officers, specialist units, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

Robison wrote: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs accrued in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the following visit of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this decision and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the visits were personal and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "The Scottish government are responsible for security expenses in Scotland as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances 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 included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with them, conducting international business with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."