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The UK government is being urged to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5 million expense incurred during the recent trips by former President Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a top Scottish minister.

Significant Estimated Expenses Revealed

Provisional costs totalling almost £24.5m for the pair of working visits have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's refusal to provide funding as "absurd," stating that both trips were obviously official, noting that the American leader held meetings with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his July stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

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

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the trips placed "significant strains and costs on public services in Scotland, particularly Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the estimated expense for securing the president's trip alone was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Complex Security Mission

This complex security mission was the largest in Scotland since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and involved regional police, national divisions, special constables and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "Following your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for costs accrued in relation to the visit of Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the following trip of VP JD Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this stance and offer complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

The UK government stated that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "The Scottish government are responsible for security expenses in the country as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the British administration reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that visit followed a official invitation from Westminster, in which case it covered security costs 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 prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with him, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really hard to believe to say this was just a personal vacation."