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

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Provisional expenses amounting to almost £24.5m for the pair of official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's refusal to provide funding as "absurd," stating that both visits were obviously work-related, noting that the US president held discussions with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Security Expenses

Donald Trump toured his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day trip in the summer, while American VP Vance spent approximately a long weekend in Ayrshire in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21m, which reflected maximum daily assignments of more than 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the largest in Scotland since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, national divisions, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs incurred in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the following trip of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this stance and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the visits."

Westminster Response and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the trips were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "The Scottish government must cover policing costs in Scotland as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

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

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a work visit … Especially when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with Donald Trump, having press conferences with them, engaging in global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."