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

Significant Estimated Expenses Revealed

Provisional expenses amounting to nearly £24.5m for the two working visits have been made public by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's refusal to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both trips were obviously official, noting that the US president held discussions with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

The former president toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in the summer, while US vice-president Vance spent around four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the trips placed "significant strains and costs on Scottish public services, particularly Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for securing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which involved maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the VP's visit were about £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This complex policing operation was the largest in the country since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, national divisions, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your choice not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs incurred in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the following visit of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to ask that you reconsider this stance and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the visits."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the trips were private and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood must cover policing costs in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to past instances where the UK government covered the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that trip followed a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with the president, having press conferences with him, conducting international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."