British and Scottish Governments Disagree Over Who Should Pay the £24.5m Cost for Donald Trump and JD Vance Visits

The British administration is being urged to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5 million cost incurred during recent visits by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary costs amounting to almost £24.5 million for the pair of working visits have been made public by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "absurd," stating that both visits were obviously official, noting that the US president held discussions with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his July visit in the northern nation.

Details of the Visits and Associated Security Expenses

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day trip in the summer, while American VP Vance spent approximately a long weekend in Ayrshire in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, especially the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for securing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which involved maximum daily assignments of more than 4,000 officers, while expenses for the VP's visit were about £3 million.

Complex Policing Operation

This extensive policing operation was the biggest in Scotland since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and involved local officers, specialist units, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

Robison wrote: "Following your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for costs incurred in connection with the trip of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP JD Vance, I am contacting you to request that you review this stance and offer full reimbursement for the expense of the visits."

Westminster Response and Past Precedent

The UK government stated that the trips were private and "not part of official government duties." A representative added: "The Scottish government are responsible for policing costs in the country as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the British administration reimbursed the expense of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that visit followed a official invitation from Westminster, in which case it included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster must take action and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the PM Sir Keir meeting with the president, having press conferences with them, conducting global diplomacy with him, its really hard to believe to say this was just a personal vacation."