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The UK government is being called upon to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5 million expense incurred during the recent visits by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional costs amounting to nearly £24.5m for the two working visits have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both visits were obviously official, noting that the American leader held discussions with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his July visit in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Associated Security Expenses

The former president visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long trip in July, while US vice-president JD Vance spent around four days in Ayrshire in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the trips placed "significant strains and costs on public services in Scotland, especially the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government calculates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which reflected peak daily deployments of more than four thousand police, while expenses for the VP's visit were about £3m.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This extensive policing operation was the biggest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, national divisions, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

Robison stated: "Following your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs incurred in connection with the trip of President Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this decision and provide complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The UK government stated that the trips were private and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "The Scottish government are responsible for security expenses in the country as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the British administration covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is believed that trip followed a official invitation from Westminster, in which case it covered security costs under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with him, conducting international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."