🔗 Share this article

The UK government is being urged to "step up" and cover the £24.5m cost incurred during recent trips by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Preliminary expenses amounting to almost £24.5m for the pair of official trips have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the UK government's refusal to provide funding as "ridiculous," arguing that both visits were obviously official, noting that the American leader held discussions with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his summer visit in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

The former president toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a five-day trip in the summer, while US vice-president Vance spent around four days in Ayrshire in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the visits placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, especially the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which reflected maximum daily assignments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were about £3 million.

Complex Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the biggest 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 expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs accrued in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following trip of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this stance and provide full reimbursement for the expense of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

The British administration stated that the trips were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government are responsible for policing costs in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to previous precedent where the British administration covered the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is believed that trip followed a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with him, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."