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The British administration is being urged to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5m cost incurred during the recent visits by former President Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Provisional costs amounting to almost £24.5 million for the two working visits have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee described the Westminster's refusal to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both trips were clearly work-related, pointing out that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Visits and Associated Policing Costs

Donald Trump visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long period in July, while American VP JD Vance spent around a long weekend in Ayrshire in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially Police Scotland."

The Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for securing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which involved peak daily deployments of more than four thousand police, while expenses for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This extensive security mission was the biggest in Scotland since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "Following your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for costs incurred in connection with the trip of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the following trip of VP Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this decision and offer complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

UK Government Reply and Past Precedent

The UK government maintained that the visits were private and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "Holyrood must cover security expenses in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced past instances where the UK government reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that visit followed a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with the president, having press conferences with him, engaging in international business with him, its really hard to believe to say this was just a private holiday trip."