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The UK government is being called upon to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during recent visits by Donald Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary costs totalling nearly £24.5 million for the two official trips have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," arguing that both visits were obviously work-related, pointing out that the US president held meetings with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his July visit in the northern nation.

Details of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a five-day period in the summer, while US vice-president JD Vance spent around four days in Ayrshire in late summer.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the visits placed "significant operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which reflected maximum daily assignments of more than 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive policing operation was the biggest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP Vance, I am writing you to request that you review this decision and provide complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The British administration stated that the trips were personal and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "Holyrood are responsible for security expenses in the country as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison referenced past instances where the British administration covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that visit followed a formal invitation from Westminster, in which case it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a work visit … Particularly when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with him, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."