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The British administration is being called upon to "step up" and cover the £24.5m cost incurred during recent visits by Donald Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Provisional expenses totalling almost £24.5m for the two official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's refusal to offer financial support as "absurd," arguing that both trips were obviously work-related, pointing out that the US president held meetings with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in the northern nation.

Details of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie over a week-long period in July, while US vice-president Vance spent approximately a long weekend in Ayrshire in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the trips placed "significant operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, particularly Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which reflected maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while costs 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 included regional police, national divisions, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "Following your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for costs accrued in relation to the trip of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following trip of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to ask that you reconsider this decision and offer complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The UK government maintained that the trips were personal and "not official UK government business." A representative commented: "Holyrood must cover policing costs in Scotland as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison pointed to previous precedent where the UK government covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is understood that visit came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which case it included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster needs to step up and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with them, conducting international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."