The First Minister enjoyed business class flights to Washington DC where he pressed the US President on whisky tariffs, despite the Scottish Government having no role or power in negotiations.
John Swinney with Donald Trump in the Oval Office(Image: Chris Cieri / Scottish Government)
John Swinney enjoyed business class flights when he rushed to the USA to hold talks with Donald Trump about whisky tariffs. He racked up a near £30k bill for the junket to Washington DC which has had no impact at all on the taxes facing the Scotch whisky industry.
And the First Minister also stayed with Lord Mandelson, the UK ambassador at the time, despite the SNP calling for his lordship to be removed. He has been accused of breaching Scottish Government travel policies due to choosing the most expensive way to head stateside.
According to newly released figures, he spent nearly £7,600 on flights and subsistence during his three-day trip to Washington in September last year. He was accompanied by an entourage of nine officials, with about £5,500 being spent on flights for Mr Swinney’s private secretary, with £4,500 going on travel for the communications officer. His chief of staff Colin McAllister racked up £6,473 in travel costs.
We previously exclusively revealed that about £1,800 was spent on “photography” with an image of Mr Swinney in the White House being published on his official pages. A total of £2,444 was splashed out on car hire, with another £1,142 being found for business lunches and meetings.
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Mr Swinney has refused to comment on whether he was comfortable with being hosted by Mandelson during the three-day-trip, with him being sacked two days later after new details emerged about his association with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. The SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn is leading the charge for his lordship to be removed.
Questions have also been raised about whether the First Minister breached his own government’s travel policies which stipulate that economy class should be used for flights of ten hours or less. Business-class seats are permitted only if the flying time on a specific flight is more than ten hours one way, or “unless otherwise agreed”.
Douglas Lumsden has criticised the SNP Government (Image: )
Flights from Edinburgh airport to Washington DC take seven to eight hours. Critics blasted Mr Swinney for this huge spend, as Scottish Tory MSP Douglas Lumsden said: “Scots facing rising bills will question why they have had to fork out for John Swinney and his senior adviser to fly business class on this trip. It appears the rules were shifted so they didn’t have to slum it in economy class. John Swinney is happy to lead from the front when it comes to his government frequently breaking the rules.”
The UK Government is in charge of negotiations with the White House for trade deals, with the SNP Executive having no role in this whatsoever. Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander described the First Minister’s trip as a “photo opportunity” which didn’t have any impact on whisky tariffs.
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Imports from the UK into the US are still subject to a 10 per cent import levy. Tariffs are costing the sector £4 million a week, the Scotch Whisky Association said. Global sales of Scotch fell by 3 per cent in the first half of 2025 when US import taxes were imposed after Trump’s inauguration.
The Scottish Government said that ministers and officials are permitted to travel by business class, by prior arrangement, where this is unavoidable due to urgency or availability. In addition the first minister’s travel requirements are understood to be defined by security requirements.
A spokesperson added: “This cost was for a return flight to the USA to support the first minister in meetings in Washington DC to set out the case for a reduction in tariffs on Scotch whisky. The United States is the largest and most valuable market for Scotch whisky, with exports worth nearly £1 billion in 2024, highlighting how crucial the US market is to the Scotch whisky industry.”
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