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

Last week, Scotland's finance secretary Shona Robison wrote to Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray requesting full reimbursement for policing and security costs tied to President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance's visits.
Robison pointed to the 2018 precedent when the UK Government reimbursed policing costs after the 2018 Trump visit to Scotland, but the UK Government says it only funds visits after formal invitations, which were absent in 2025.
Police sources say the operations required peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers and drafting from other UK forces, creating high accommodation and pay costs.
Both governments are now at an impasse and Robison warned that failure to reimburse would strain devolved budgets and set a troubling precedent for future high-profile visits.
Despite the White House calling the visit both `private` and `working`, Robison stressed the trips were diplomatically significant, noting meetings with the Prime Minister, Ursula Von Der Leyen, Sir Keir Starmer, and First Minister John Swinney.

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Scotland to UK: Pony Up $35M for Trump, Vance Visits

The Scottish government is demanding that the UK Treasury cover the $35 million bill for the recent visits of President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, arguing that the trips, while described as private, imposed major costs on Scottish public services—especially the police. Finance Secretary Shona Robison says Trump's...

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

Scotland's Finance Secretary Shona Robison said the visits imposed "substantial operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, particularly Police Scotland".

11 hours ago·United Kingdom

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