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

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Preliminary expenses amounting to nearly £24.5m for the two working visits have been published by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both visits were clearly work-related, pointing out that the American leader held discussions with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a five-day trip in July, while American VP JD Vance spent around four days in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the trips placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which involved maximum daily assignments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Complex Security Mission

This complex policing operation was the largest in the country since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included local officers, national divisions, special constables and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for expenses incurred in connection with the trip of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to request that you review this stance and offer full reimbursement for the expense of the trips."

UK Government Response and Previous Example

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

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the British administration 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 case it covered security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government needs to step up and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a official trip … Particularly when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with them, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a private holiday trip."