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The British administration is being urged to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5m cost incurred during the recent visits by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

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

Ivan McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "absurd," stating that both visits were obviously official, pointing out that the American leader held meetings with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

Donald Trump toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long trip in the summer, while US vice-president JD Vance spent around a long weekend in Ayrshire in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit by itself was £21m, which reflected maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

This extensive security mission was the biggest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, national divisions, special constables and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "Following your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for expenses accrued in relation to the trip of President Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the subsequent visit of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this stance and provide complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the visits were personal and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government are responsible for security expenses in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to past instances where the UK government covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is believed that trip came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a work visit … Especially when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with the president, having press conferences with him, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."