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The UK government is being called upon to "take responsibility" and cover 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 Provisional Costs Revealed

Preliminary expenses amounting to nearly £24.5m for the two official trips have been published by the Scottish government.

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 discussions with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his summer visit in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Visits and Associated Policing Costs

The former president visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long period in July, while US vice-president JD Vance spent approximately four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit alone was £21 million, which reflected peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the biggest in Scotland since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included local officers, specialist units, special constables and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "Following your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses accrued in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the following trip of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this decision and offer full reimbursement for the expense of the trips."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The UK government stated that the visits were personal and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government must cover policing costs in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison referenced past instances where the British administration reimbursed the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is understood that trip followed a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with him, conducting global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."