LONDON — The Scottish government doesn’t want to pay the bill for Donald Trump and JD Vance’s summer trips — and London doesn’t want to stump up the cash either.
Scotland’s Finance Secretary Shona Robison, who represents the independence-supporting Scottish National Party, wants to recoup around £20 million in policing and security costs from the London-based Treasury for the U.S. president’s trip to his Scottish golf courses in July, according to the BBC.
Robison also wants Whitehall to pay £6 million for policing Vance’s holiday in Ayrshire in August.
However, the British government insists Scotland must pick up the tab as they were private visits rather than official government business.
In a letter to Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray, Robison said: “There is a clear previous precedent, where the U.K. government has supported policing costs for visits to devolved nations by foreign dignitaries.”
The Treasury says it will only foot the bill when it has issued a formal invitation to the visiting leaders.
Yet Robison insisted Trump’s trip was “diplomatically significant” and not covering the cost would “strain devolved budgets [and] set a troubling precedent for future high-profile visits.”
During his July visit, Trump met Prime Minister Keir Starmer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Scottish First Minister John Swinney.
A U.K. government spokesperson said: “These were private visits by the president and vice president to Scotland, not official U.K. government business. The Scottish government are responsible for policing costs in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements.”
Officials in Edinburgh disagree.
“The visits imposed substantial operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services,” Scottish Public Finance Minister Ivan McKee said. “These visits were significant in terms of U.K. government international relations, with the prime minister formally meeting the president during his visit in two separate locations in Scotland. The costs cannot be deemed solely a matter for the Scottish government.”
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