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The British administration is being called upon to "step up" and cover the £24.5m cost incurred during recent trips by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Scottish minister.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

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

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's refusal to offer financial support as "absurd," arguing that both visits were obviously work-related, pointing out that the American leader held meetings with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his July stay in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long period in July, while US vice-president Vance spent around four days in Ayrshire in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the trips placed "significant strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which reflected peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3 million.

Complex Policing Operation

This extensive security mission was the biggest in the country since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, national divisions, special constables and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

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

UK Government Reply and Past Precedent

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

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the UK government reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that trip followed a formal invitation from Westminster, in which case it covered security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action 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, having press conferences with him, conducting global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."