The UK government has confirmed that it will cover the security costs of Donald Trump’s expected trip to Scotland next week.
The move is an attempt by Westminster to “appease Scottish anger” at Trump’s official visit to the UK on June 13, according to the Financial Times.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
After meeting the Queen and Theresa May on Friday, the president is widely expected to travel north to visit one of the two golf courses he owns in Scotland on Saturday or Sunday.
The Treasury’s announcement comes after Scotland’s justice secretary, Humza Yousaf, wrote to Sajid Javid, calling on the Home Secretary to commit to reimbursing costs associated with providing security for any visit by Trump.
Yousaf praised the “U-turn” from the government. “This is a welcome decision, given that President Trump is coming to the UK on the invitation of the UK Government,” he said. “However, we should not have had to force this decision - and there should never have been an assumption that the Scottish Government would pick up the tab.”
Police Scotland estimates that Trump’s visit will cost around £5m and require more than 5,000 officers, according to STV. Interim Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said many officers would have rest days cancelled as a result.
Demonstrations are expected in cities across the UK, with tens of thousands of people expected to descend on central London to protest against the president’s trip.
Riot vans, helicopters, mounted officers, search dogs, public order units and protest removal units will join counterterrorism and specialist protection officers to guarantee Trump’s safety, The Times reports.
-
5 cinematic cartoons about Bezos betting big on 'Melania'Cartoons Artists take on a girlboss, a fetching newspaper, and more
-
The fall of the generals: China’s military purgeIn the Spotlight Xi Jinping’s extraordinary removal of senior general proves that no-one is safe from anti-corruption drive that has investigated millions
-
Why the Gorton and Denton by-election is a ‘Frankenstein’s monster’Talking Point Reform and the Greens have the Labour seat in their sights, but the constituency’s complex demographics make messaging tricky
-
Trump links funding to name on Penn StationSpeed Read Trump “can restart the funding with a snap of his fingers,” a Schumer insider said
-
Trump reclassifies 50,000 federal jobs to ease firingsSpeed Read The rule strips longstanding job protections from federal workers
-
Is the Gaza peace plan destined to fail?Today’s Big Question Since the ceasefire agreement in October, the situation in Gaza is still ‘precarious’, with the path to peace facing ‘many obstacles’
-
Vietnam’s ‘balancing act’ with the US, China and EuropeIn the Spotlight Despite decades of ‘steadily improving relations’, Hanoi is still ‘deeply suspicious’ of the US as it tries to ‘diversify’ its options
-
Trump demands $1B from Harvard, deepening feudSpeed Read Trump has continually gone after the university during his second term
-
Trump’s Kennedy Center closure plan draws ireSpeed Read Trump said he will close the center for two years for ‘renovations’
-
Trump's ‘weaponization czar’ demoted at DOJSpeed Read Ed Martin lost his title as assistant attorney general
-
Gabbard faces questions on vote raid, secret complaintSpeed Read This comes as Trump has pushed Republicans to ‘take over’ voting
