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The British administration is being urged to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5m cost incurred during the recent visits by former President Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Significant Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Preliminary expenses amounting to nearly £24.5m for the pair of official trips have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's refusal to offer financial support as "ridiculous," stating that both visits were obviously official, noting that the US president held discussions with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his July visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

Donald Trump toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie over a five-day trip in July, while American VP Vance spent around a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the visits placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, especially Police Scotland."

The Scottish government calculates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip alone was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This complex security mission was the biggest in the country since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "Following your choice not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses accrued in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the subsequent visit of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to request that you review this decision and provide full reimbursement for the cost of the visits."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The UK government stated that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "The Scottish government must cover policing costs in the country as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to past instances where the UK government reimbursed the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that trip came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, having press conferences with them, conducting international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."