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The UK government is being called upon to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5m expense incurred during the recent trips by Donald Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Substantial Provisional Costs Revealed

Preliminary costs amounting to almost £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the Westminster's refusal to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both visits were obviously official, pointing out that the US president held meetings with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day trip in July, while US vice-president JD Vance spent around four days in Ayrshire in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the visits placed "significant operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the estimated expense for securing the president's trip alone was £21 million, which involved maximum daily assignments of more than 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Complex Security Mission

This complex policing operation was the largest in Scotland since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and included regional police, national divisions, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs incurred in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent visit of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this stance and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the visits."

Westminster Response and Past Precedent

The UK government maintained that the trips were private and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government must cover security expenses in Scotland as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison pointed to previous precedent where the British administration reimbursed the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is understood that visit came after a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government needs to step up and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with them, engaging in international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a private holiday trip."