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The British administration is being called upon to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5m expense incurred during recent visits by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Significant Estimated Expenses Disclosed

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

Ivan McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both visits were clearly official, noting that the US president held discussions with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his July visit in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie over a week-long trip in the summer, while US vice-president JD Vance spent around a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James 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 calculates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which reflected peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This extensive security mission was the biggest in Scotland since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, national divisions, special constables and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP Vance, I am writing you to request that you review this stance and provide complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

UK Government Response and Previous Example

The British administration stated that the trips were personal and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood must cover policing costs in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the UK government reimbursed the expense of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is believed that trip followed a official UK government invitation, in which case it included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster needs to step up and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer meeting with the president, holding joint briefings with them, conducting international business with them, its really hard to believe to say this was just a personal vacation."