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The UK government is being called upon to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during the recent visits by Donald Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Scottish minister.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary costs amounting to almost £24.5 million for the two official trips have been made public by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's refusal to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both trips were obviously work-related, noting that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

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

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the trips placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, especially Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This extensive policing operation was the largest in the country since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, specialist units, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

Robison wrote: "Following your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses incurred in connection with the trip of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the following trip of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this decision and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

The British administration maintained that the trips were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "Holyrood are responsible for policing costs in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the UK government covered the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is understood that trip came after a official UK government invitation, in which instance it covered security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir meeting with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with them, conducting global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a private holiday trip."