🔗 Share this article

The British administration is being called upon to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5m cost incurred during recent visits by Donald Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

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

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's refusal to offer financial support as "absurd," arguing that both trips were obviously official, noting that the US president held discussions with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

Donald Trump visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie over a five-day period in the summer, while American VP Vance spent approximately four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary 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 securing 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 £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive policing operation was the biggest in Scotland since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved local officers, specialist units, special constables and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs incurred in relation to the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following visit of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to request that you reconsider this stance and offer complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

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

While the Finance Secretary pointed to previous precedent where the British administration covered the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that trip came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which case it included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, having press conferences with him, conducting international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."