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The British administration is being urged to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during recent visits by former President Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Significant Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Preliminary expenses amounting to nearly £24.5m for the pair of working visits have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's refusal to provide funding as "ridiculous," arguing that both visits were obviously work-related, pointing out that the US president held meetings with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his summer visit in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Trips and Related Policing Costs

Donald Trump visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie over a five-day trip in July, while US vice-president JD Vance spent around a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

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

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which reflected peak daily deployments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Complex Security Mission

This extensive policing operation was the biggest in the country since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included local officers, specialist units, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your choice not to provide funding to Scotland for costs incurred in relation to the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following trip of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to request that you review this decision and offer complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

UK Government Reply and Past Precedent

The UK government stated that the visits were private and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "Holyrood must cover policing costs in Scotland as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the UK government reimbursed the expense of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is understood that trip came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which case it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir meeting with the president, having press conferences with them, engaging in global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."