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

Significant Estimated Expenses Revealed

Provisional expenses amounting to almost £24.5 million for the pair of working visits have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the UK government's refusal to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both trips were clearly work-related, noting that the US president held meetings with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his July stay in the northern nation.

Details of the Trips and Related Policing Costs

Donald Trump toured his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie over a five-day trip in July, while US vice-president JD Vance spent approximately a long weekend in Ayrshire in late summer.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which reflected maximum daily assignments of more than four thousand police, while expenses for the VP's visit were about £3m.

Complex Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the biggest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, specialist units, special constables and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this decision and offer complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

The UK government stated that the trips were personal and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "Holyrood are responsible for security expenses in Scotland as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the UK government covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that visit came after a official UK government invitation, in which case it covered security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with them, conducting international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."