The British administration is being urged to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5m expense incurred during the recent visits by former President Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Scottish minister.
Preliminary costs amounting to nearly £24.5 million for the two working visits have been made public by the Scottish government.
Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," arguing that both visits were obviously official, pointing out that the US president held meetings with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his summer visit in the northern nation.
The former president toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie over a five-day period in the summer, while US vice-president JD Vance spent approximately four days in the Ayrshire region in August.
In a formal letter to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the visits placed "significant operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, especially Police Scotland."
The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for securing the president's trip alone was £21 million, which involved maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the VP's visit were about £3m.
This extensive security mission was the biggest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.
The Finance Secretary stated: "After your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this decision and offer full reimbursement for the expense of the trips."
The UK government stated that the trips were personal and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson commented: "Holyrood must cover security expenses in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."
While Robison pointed to previous precedent where the UK government covered the expense of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is understood that visit followed a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it included security costs under its funding guidelines.
"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a official trip … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir meeting with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with them, engaging in global diplomacy with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."
Lena Hoffmann is a seasoned journalist with a passion for uncovering stories that matter, specializing in German current affairs and digital media trends.
