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The British administration is being called upon to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during the recent trips by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a top Scottish minister.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary costs totalling almost £24.5m for the pair of working visits have been published by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's refusal to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both trips were obviously work-related, pointing out that the US president held discussions with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in the northern nation.

Details of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long trip in the summer, while American VP JD Vance spent around four days in Ayrshire in late summer.

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

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for policing the president's trip by itself was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were about £3 million.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This complex security mission was the largest in the country since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, national divisions, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your choice not to provide funding to Scotland for costs accrued in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent visit of Vice-President JD Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this decision and provide full reimbursement for the expense of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

The British administration maintained that the visits were personal and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "Holyrood are responsible for policing costs 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 Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that trip came after a official UK government invitation, in which case it included protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster needs to step up and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Keir Starmer meeting with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with them, engaging in international business with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a private holiday trip."