Scottish Government Demands UK Pay £26m Police Costs for Trump, Vance Visits

The Scottish Government is demanding that the UK Treasury reimburse £26 million spent on policing the visits of US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance to Scotland, arguing that these visits, although private, were diplomatically significant and imposed substantial operational burdens on Scottish public services, particularly Police Scotland. President Trump spent four days visiting golf courses in Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire, with policing costs estimated at £20 million, while Vice President Vance's four-day visit in Ayrshire cost around £6 million. Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison highlighted that the UK Government previously reimbursed costs for Trump's 2018 visit and criticized the refusal to cover current expenses, emphasizing that the visits were not initiated by Scotland nor part of devolved policy initiatives. The UK Government maintains that these were private visits and that Scotland is responsible for the policing costs. Robison warned that failing to reimburse would strain devolved budgets and set a troubling precedent for future high-profile visits. The dispute reflects ongoing tensions between Scottish and UK governments over financial responsibilities for policing such events.