The Scottish government has called on the UK Treasury to reimburse £24.5 million in policing and security costs incurred during visits by US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance earlier this year. Holyrood’s public finance minister, Ivan McKee, described the UK government's refusal to cover the costs as 'ridiculous', arguing that the visits were official working trips rather than private holidays.
Provisional figures published by the Scottish government show that policing the presidential visit in July cost approximately £21 million, with peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers. The operation for Vice President Vance’s visit in August cost around £3 million. The complex security operation was the largest in Scotland since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.
In a letter to Treasury Chief Secretary James Murray, Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison requested full reimbursement, citing the 'substantial operational and financial burdens' on Police Scotland and other public services. She noted that the UK government had previously covered costs for Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, but that visit followed a formal UK government invitation.
The UK government has maintained that both visits were private and not official UK government business. A spokesperson said that 'the Scottish government are responsible for policing costs in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements'. However, McKee pointed out that Trump met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during his time in Scotland, stating that it 'stretches the bounds of credibility' to call it a private trip.
