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

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

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

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the Westminster's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both visits were clearly official, pointing out that the American leader held discussions with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

Donald Trump visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie over a week-long trip in July, while American VP Vance spent around four days in Ayrshire in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the visits placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, especially the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the estimated expense for securing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which involved peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the largest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved regional police, national divisions, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your choice not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses accrued in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the following trip of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this decision and offer full reimbursement for the expense of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

The UK government maintained that the trips were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative added: "The Scottish government must cover security expenses in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced past instances where the British administration 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 included protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with him, conducting international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."