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

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Provisional expenses totalling almost £24.5m for the two working visits have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the Westminster's refusal to provide funding as "ridiculous," arguing that both trips were clearly official, noting that the American leader held discussions with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his July stay in the northern nation.

Details of the Trips and Related Policing Costs

The former president toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in July, while American VP Vance spent around a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the visits placed "significant strains and costs on Scottish public services, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which involved maximum daily assignments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This extensive policing operation was the biggest in the country since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included local officers, national divisions, special constables and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "After your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs incurred in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following visit of VP JD Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this decision and provide complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The UK government maintained that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood are responsible for security expenses in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the UK government reimbursed the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is believed that visit followed a formal UK government invitation, in which case it included protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster needs to step up and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, having press conferences with them, conducting global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."