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The British administration is being urged to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5m cost incurred during recent visits by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary costs totalling nearly £24.5 million for the two working visits have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," arguing that both trips were obviously official, pointing out that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his summer visit in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Associated Security Expenses

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie over a five-day period in July, while American VP JD Vance spent approximately four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the estimated expense for securing the presidential visit by itself was £21m, which involved maximum daily assignments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

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

Robison stated: "After your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses accrued in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following visit of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to ask that you reconsider this stance and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

UK Government Reply and Previous Example

The UK government maintained that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood must cover policing costs in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the British administration reimbursed the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is believed that trip followed a official UK government invitation, in which instance it covered security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government needs to step up and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir spending time with Donald Trump, having press conferences with them, conducting international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."