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The UK government is being called upon to "step up" and cover the £24.5m expense incurred during the recent trips by former President Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary expenses amounting to almost £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been made public by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "ridiculous," stating that both visits were clearly work-related, noting that the US president held discussions 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 Related Policing Costs

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day trip in the summer, while US vice-president 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 wrote that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, especially Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for policing the president's trip alone was £21m, which involved peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

This extensive security mission was the largest in Scotland since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved local officers, national divisions, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for expenses incurred in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to request that you review this decision and provide full reimbursement for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Reply and Past Precedent

The UK government stated that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson commented: "Holyrood are responsible for policing costs in Scotland as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to past instances where the British administration covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that trip came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which case it included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, having press conferences with him, engaging in international business with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a private holiday trip."