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

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

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

Ivan McKee described the Westminster's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," arguing that both visits were clearly official, pointing out that the American leader held discussions with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

The former president toured his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long trip in the summer, while US vice-president Vance spent approximately a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the trips placed "significant operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, especially Police Scotland."

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit alone was £21 million, which reflected peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This extensive policing operation was the largest in the country since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, national divisions, special constables and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "Following your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs incurred in connection with the trip of President Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this stance and provide complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

Westminster Response and Past Precedent

The UK government maintained that the trips were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government are responsible for security expenses in Scotland as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to past instances where the UK government covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that visit followed a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it covered security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir meeting with the president, holding joint briefings with him, conducting international business with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."