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The UK government is being urged to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5m cost incurred during recent trips by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a top Scottish minister.

Significant Estimated Expenses Revealed

Preliminary expenses totalling almost £24.5m for the pair of official trips have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the UK government's refusal to offer financial support as "ridiculous," arguing that both trips were clearly work-related, noting that the US president held meetings with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Associated Security Expenses

Donald Trump toured his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie over a week-long trip in July, while American VP JD Vance spent approximately a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the trips placed "significant operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, particularly Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for securing the president's trip alone was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Complex Security Mission

This complex policing operation was the biggest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, specialist units, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

Robison stated: "After your choice not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in connection with the visit of Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this decision and provide full reimbursement for the expense of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

The UK government stated that the trips were private and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "The Scottish government are responsible for policing costs in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the UK government reimbursed the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that visit came after a official UK government invitation, in which instance it covered protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"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 PM Keir Starmer meeting with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with him, conducting international business with him, its really hard to believe to say this was just a personal vacation."