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

Substantial Provisional Costs Revealed

Provisional expenses totalling almost £24.5m for the two working visits have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee described the Westminster's refusal to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both trips were obviously official, noting 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 July visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

The former president toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long trip in the summer, while American VP Vance spent approximately a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, particularly Police Scotland."

The Scottish government estimates that the estimated expense for securing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were about £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive policing operation was the largest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved local officers, specialist units, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "Following your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs accrued in relation to the trip of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following visit of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this stance and provide full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

The British administration maintained that the visits were private and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "The Scottish government must cover security expenses in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the British administration covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is believed that visit came after a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it covered protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir spending time with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with them, engaging in global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."