The Scottish and UK governments are locked in a dispute over who should foot the £26m bill for Donald Trump and JD Vance’s recent visits to Scotland.
The US president spent four days visiting his golf courses in Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire in July, while the vice president spent around four days in Ayrshire the following month.
In a letter to Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray, Scotland’s Finance Secretary Shona Robison said the visits imposed “substantial operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, particularly Police Scotland”.
Mr Trump opened a new golf course in Aberdeenshire in July. Pic: PA
Ms Robison said the estimated additional cost of policing the presidential visit alone was around £20m, reflecting peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers, while the cost for the vice president’s trip was around £6m.
The SNP MSP said while both occasions were framed as private visits, they were “diplomatically significant”.
Security surrounding Trump Turnberry golf resort in July. Pic: PA
Specialist rifle officers on the lookout at Trump Turnberry. Pic: PA
She wrote: “Following your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for costs incurred in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent visit of Vice President JD Vance, I am writing to you to request that you reconsider this decision and provide full reimbursement for the cost of the visits.”
The UK government said the visits were private and “not official UK government business”, and that the Scottish government is “responsible for policing costs”.
Mr Trump enjoying a round of golf at Trump Turnberry during his visit. Pic: AP
Mr Trump’s trip came ahead of his UK state visit in September.
During his time in Scotland, the president enjoyed several rounds of golf, opened a new golf course, and met with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, First Minister John Swinney, and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
First Minister John Swinney at Trump International Golf Links. Pic: PA
Ms Robison pointed out the UK government reimbursed the cost of Mr Trump’s visit to Scotland in 2018.
Referring to the visits this summer, she wrote: “It is important to note that these visits were not initiated by the Scottish government, nor were they part of devolved policy initiatives.
“Whilst I recognise this was not an official visit initiated by the UK government, any visit by a sitting president and vice president will always constitute a high-profile event.
“There is clear previous precedent, where the UK government has supported policing costs for visits to devolved nations by foreign dignitaries, including for the costs of the president’s visit in 2018.
“Although the London element of the 2018 visit was for official engagements, the Scotland element was not.”
Police on Balmedie Beach ahead of Mr Trump’s visit to Aberdeenshire. Pic: PA
Ms Robison warned that failing to reimburse the costs would “not only strain devolved budgets but also set a troubling precedent for future high-profile visits”.
The letter was sent last week.
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Scotland’s public finance minister Ivan McKee said the UK government should reimburse the full costs.
He added: “The visits were part of UK government international relations, with the prime minister formally meeting the president in two locations in Scotland during his visit.
“It is completely unacceptable to expect the Scottish government to foot the bill for what were clearly not private visits, as the UK government is claiming.”
A UK government spokesperson said: “These were private visits by the president and vice president to Scotland, not official UK government business.
“The Scottish government are responsible for policing costs in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements.”
It is understood Mr Trump’s visit in 2018 followed a UK government invitation, and Principle 10 of the Statement of Funding Policy therefore applied.
