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The UK government is being called upon to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5m cost incurred during the recent trips by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Significant Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Provisional expenses amounting to nearly £24.5 million for the two official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both trips were obviously official, noting that the American leader held meetings with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his July stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

The former president 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 a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the visits placed "significant strains and costs on public services in Scotland, particularly Police Scotland."

The Scottish government calculates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which involved peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were about £3 million.

Complex Policing Operation

This complex policing operation was the largest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved local officers, national divisions, special constables and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

Robison wrote: "Following your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses accrued in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following trip of VP Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this stance and offer full reimbursement for the expense of the trips."

UK Government Reply and Previous Example

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

While Robison pointed to past instances where the British administration reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that trip followed a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it included protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Particularly when you have the PM Keir Starmer meeting with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with them, engaging in global diplomacy with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."