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The UK government is being urged to "step up" and cover the £24.5 million cost incurred during recent visits by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Scottish minister.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Provisional expenses totalling almost £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

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

Details of the Visits and Associated Policing Costs

Donald Trump toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long period in the summer, while American VP Vance spent approximately four days in Ayrshire in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government estimates that the estimated expense for policing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which reflected maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Large-Scale Security Mission

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

Robison stated: "After your choice not to provide funding to the Scottish government for costs accrued in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this decision and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the visits."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The British administration stated that the trips were personal and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson commented: "Holyrood must cover policing costs in the country as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

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

"Westminster needs to step up and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer meeting with the president, having press conferences with him, conducting international business with him, its really hard to believe to say this was just a private holiday trip."