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The British administration is being called upon to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during the recent trips by former President Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Preliminary expenses amounting to nearly £24.5m for the pair of working visits have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's refusal to offer financial support as "ridiculous," arguing that both visits were clearly work-related, noting 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 July stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Security Expenses

Donald Trump toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day trip in the summer, while American VP JD Vance spent around a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the visits placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, especially Police Scotland."

The Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for securing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which reflected peak daily deployments of more than four thousand police, while expenses for the VP's visit were about £3 million.

Complex Policing Operation

This complex security mission was the biggest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved local officers, specialist units, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

Robison stated: "After your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses incurred in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of VP Vance, I am writing you to ask that you reconsider this decision and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the visits."

UK Government Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the visits were personal and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson commented: "Holyrood are responsible for policing costs in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the UK government reimbursed the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that visit came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it covered security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, having press conferences with him, engaging in global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a private holiday trip."