Scottish and UK governments locked in dispute over £26m cost of Trump and Vance visits

The Scottish and UK governments are locked successful a quality implicit who should ft the £26m measure for Donald Trump and JD Vance's caller visits to Scotland.

The US president spent 4 days visiting his play courses successful Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire successful July, portion the vice president spent astir 4 days successful Ayrshire the pursuing month.

In a missive to Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray, Scotland's Finance Secretary Shona Robison said the visits imposed "substantial operational and fiscal burdens connected Scottish nationalist services, peculiarly Police Scotland".

Ms Robison said the estimated further outgo of policing the statesmanlike sojourn unsocial was astir £20m, reflecting highest regular deployments of much than 4,000 officers, portion the outgo for the vice president's travel was astir £6m.

The SNP MSP said portion some occasions were framed arsenic backstage visits, they were "diplomatically significant".

She wrote: "Following your determination not to supply backing to Scotland for costs incurred successful narration to the sojourn of President Donald Trump to Scotland successful July 2025 and the consequent sojourn of Vice President JD Vance, I americium penning to you to petition that you reconsider this determination and supply afloat reimbursement for the outgo of the visits."

The UK authorities said the visits were backstage and "not authoritative UK authorities business", and that the Scottish authorities is "responsible for policing costs".

Mr Trump's travel came up of his UK authorities visit successful September.

During his clip successful Scotland, the president enjoyed respective rounds of golf, opened a caller play course, and met with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, First Minister John Swinney, and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Ms Robison pointed retired the UK authorities reimbursed the outgo of Mr Trump's sojourn to Scotland successful 2018.

Referring to the visits this summer, she wrote: "It is important to enactment that these visits were not initiated by the Scottish government, nor were they portion of devolved argumentation initiatives.

"Whilst I recognise this was not an authoritative sojourn initiated by the UK government, immoderate sojourn by a sitting president and vice president volition ever represent a high-profile event.

"There is wide erstwhile precedent, wherever the UK authorities has supported policing costs for visits to devolved nations by overseas dignitaries, including for the costs of the president's sojourn successful 2018.

"Although the London constituent of the 2018 sojourn was for authoritative engagements, the Scotland constituent was not."

Ms Robison warned that failing to reimburse the costs would "not lone strain devolved budgets but besides acceptable a troubling precedent for aboriginal high-profile visits".

The missive was sent past week.

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Scotland's nationalist concern curate Ivan McKee said the UK authorities should reimburse the afloat costs.

He added: "The visits were portion of UK authorities planetary relations, with the premier curate formally gathering the president successful 2 locations successful Scotland during his visit.

"It is wholly unacceptable to expect the Scottish authorities to ft the measure for what were intelligibly not backstage visits, arsenic the UK authorities is claiming."

A UK authorities spokesperson said: "These were backstage visits by the president and vice president to Scotland, not authoritative UK authorities business.

"The Scottish authorities are liable for policing costs successful Scotland arsenic per agreed devolved backing arrangements."

It is understood Mr Trump's sojourn successful 2018 followed a UK authorities invitation, and Principle 10 of the Statement of Funding Policy truthful applied.