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The British administration is being called upon to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5 million cost incurred during recent visits by Donald Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional costs totalling nearly £24.5 million for the pair of working visits have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's refusal to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both visits were obviously work-related, noting that the US president held discussions with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in the northern nation.

Details of the Visits and Associated Security Expenses

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

In a written communication to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, especially Police Scotland."

The Scottish government estimates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21m, which reflected peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive policing operation was the biggest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved local officers, national divisions, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison wrote: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs accrued in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you review this decision and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The UK government maintained that the visits were personal and "not official UK government business." A representative commented: "The Scottish government are responsible for policing costs in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the British administration covered the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that visit followed a official UK government invitation, in which instance it covered protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Particularly when you have the PM Sir Keir spending time with the president, having press conferences with him, conducting international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."