Donald Trump’s four day visit to Scotland will cost the UK taxpayer an eyewatering £14 million as critics say he is only in the UK to play golf.
This is a private visit, so it won’t feature the pomp and ceremony of a formal state visit, during which the president would be hosted by the King. Instead, he is set to meet with PM Keir Starmer for an informal chat, according to the White House.
Nonetheless, it will still demand a major security operation. A comparable non-state visit by the US President in 2018, which also included time in Scotland, cost £14.8 million in security.
Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond, who has admitted it will cost a “significant” amount, revealed officers from across the UK have been drafted in to help police the visit of the US president.
Speaking to Sky News, ACC Bond said officials preparing for the operation have taken into consideration the risk factors and potential terror threats.
ACC Bond said: “There’s a broad range of considerations, absolutely. I mean, it would be inappropriate for me to plan an operation and not bear in mind what has happened in other parts of the world.
“But with that in mind, we’ve got a really experienced team of officers working as part of planning the operation.
“We’ve got really good command experience, and I’m confident that the operation that we will deliver is proportionate and what is required to meet the needs and to ensure that we keep the president safe.”
“I can’t say definitively there may not be some disruption to how we’ve done that, but absolutely, it’s been a priority to make sure that that’s minimised as much as possible,” she said.
“Police Scotland has a lot of experience in terms of organising and planning events and operations of this scale – really experienced – but it is a significant operation for us, focused on maintaining public safety, balancing people’s right to peaceful protest, and ensuring that we minimise disruption to communities.”