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

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional costs totalling nearly £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been published by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee labeled the Westminster's unwillingness to offer financial support as "ridiculous," stating that both visits were obviously official, pointing out that the American leader held discussions with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Visits and Associated Security Expenses

Donald Trump visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long trip in the summer, while American VP JD Vance spent approximately a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the visits placed "significant operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for policing the president's trip by itself was £21 million, which involved maximum daily assignments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive policing operation was the biggest in Scotland since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and included regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses accrued in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following trip of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to request that you review this stance and offer complete repayment for the cost of the visits."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the visits were private and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government are responsible for policing costs in Scotland as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the UK government reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is believed that trip followed a formal invitation from Westminster, in which case 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 work visit … Particularly when you have the PM Sir Keir spending time with the president, having press conferences with him, conducting international business with them, its really hard to believe to say this was just a private holiday trip."