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

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Provisional expenses amounting to nearly £24.5 million for the pair of working visits have been made public by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both trips were clearly official, noting that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

The former president toured his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long period in July, while American VP Vance spent around a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

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

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip by itself was £21 million, which reflected maximum daily assignments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This complex policing operation was the biggest in the country since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and involved regional police, national divisions, special constables and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your choice not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following visit of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to request that you review this decision and provide full reimbursement for the cost of the visits."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The UK government stated that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "The Scottish government must cover security expenses in the country as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the British administration covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is believed that trip followed a formal UK government invitation, in which case it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer 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."