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

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary expenses amounting to nearly £24.5m for the two official trips have been made public by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's refusal to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both visits were clearly work-related, noting that the American leader held meetings with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his July stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

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

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

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit alone was £21 million, which reflected maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This complex security mission was the biggest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and included regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your choice not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs accrued in connection with the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following visit of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to request that you review this decision and offer complete repayment for the cost of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration stated that the trips were private and "not official UK government business." A representative commented: "Holyrood must cover security expenses in Scotland as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced past instances where the UK government reimbursed the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that trip followed a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir meeting with the president, holding joint briefings with them, conducting global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."