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The British administration is being called upon to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5 million cost incurred during recent trips by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Substantial Provisional Costs Revealed

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

Ivan McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both trips were clearly work-related, pointing out that the US president held discussions with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his July visit in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Associated Policing Costs

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

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary 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 estimates that the estimated expense for policing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which involved peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the VP's visit were about £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 involved regional police, national divisions, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "After your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for expenses incurred in relation to the trip of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of VP JD Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this decision and offer full reimbursement for the expense of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the trips were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "The Scottish government must cover security expenses in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the British administration reimbursed the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is believed that trip came after a formal UK government invitation, in which case it covered security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with them, conducting international business with him, its really hard to believe to say this was just a private holiday trip."