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The British administration is being called upon to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5 million cost incurred during the recent visits by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Scottish minister.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary costs totalling almost £24.5 million for the two official trips have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's refusal to offer financial support as "absurd," arguing that both visits were obviously work-related, noting that the US president held meetings with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his July visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

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

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary 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 calculates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which reflected maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This complex policing operation was the largest in Scotland since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, national divisions, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

Robison stated: "Following your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for costs incurred in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent visit of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you review this decision and offer complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The British administration stated that the trips were personal and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson commented: "Holyrood are responsible for security expenses in the country as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to past instances where the UK government reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that visit came after a formal UK government invitation, in which case it included protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a official trip … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with the president, having press conferences with him, conducting international business with him, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."