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The British administration is being urged to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5m cost incurred during the recent trips by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Scottish minister.

Significant Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Provisional expenses totalling nearly £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been made public by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," arguing that both visits were obviously work-related, pointing out that the American leader held discussions with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his summer visit in the northern nation.

Details of the Trips and Related Policing Costs

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a week-long period in the summer, while American VP Vance spent approximately four days in Ayrshire in late summer.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the trips placed "significant operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which involved peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Complex Security Mission

This complex security mission was the largest in the country since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and involved local officers, specialist units, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your choice not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs incurred in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following trip of VP Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this stance and offer complete repayment for the cost of the visits."

UK Government Response and Previous Example

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

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the UK government reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is believed that trip came after a official UK government invitation, in which case 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 ridiculous, it was clearly a official trip … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with the president, having press conferences with him, engaging in international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."