THE UK Government are yet to offer clarity on how much of the bill they will pick up for a global climate change summit to be held in Scotland next year.
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has now said the UK Government should pick up the estimated £100 million bill for providing security at the COP26 event in Glasgow in November 2020.
Yousaf said that figure of £100m is a "conservative estimate" of the overall cost for security.
The 26th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will bring about 30,000 delegates to the city's Scottish Event Campus.
It will be the largest summit the UK has held, with up to 200 world leaders expected for the final weekend of talks.
Yousaf told MSPs "It is the expectation of this Government that the UK Government will pick up all of the costs associated with COP26."
While he said the UK Government has committed to covering "core costs" for the event, the Justice Secretary said Westminster should meet the bill in full.
Speaking to Holyrood's Justice Sub-Committee on Policing, Yousaf said: "The conservative estimate of the costs around security for that conference are £100 million, so not an insignificant amount. Therefore we would expect all those costs to be borne by the UK Government.
"My understanding from the Scottish Government's correspondence with the UK Government is that the UK Government have agreed to cover what they determine as 'core' costs.
"And as you can imagine we are trying to nail down exactly what that word 'core' might mean."
His comments come after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he does not want First Minister Nicola Sturgeon "anywhere near" the event.
The PM said: "It's going to be a great global summit, the leaders of the entire world will come to Glasgow and I don't mind seeing a Saltire or two on that summit, but I want to see the Union flag.
"I don't want to see Nicola Sturgeon anywhere near it because the Scottish nationalist party didn't secure that summit in Glasgow, it was the United Kingdom Government."
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