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The UK government is being called upon to "step up" and cover the £24.5 million cost incurred during the recent trips by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Provisional costs amounting to nearly £24.5 million for the pair of working visits have been published by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee described the Westminster's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," arguing that both visits were obviously work-related, noting that the American leader held discussions with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his July stay in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Associated Security Expenses

The former president visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day trip in July, while US vice-president JD Vance spent around a long weekend in Ayrshire in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the visits placed "significant strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the provisional cost for policing the president's trip alone was £21m, which reflected peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were about £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This complex security mission was the biggest in Scotland since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved local officers, national divisions, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

Robison stated: "Following your choice not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses accrued in connection with the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following visit of Vice-President JD Vance, I am writing you to request that you reconsider this stance and provide complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The UK government maintained that the visits were personal and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government are responsible for security expenses in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison referenced past instances where the British administration covered the expense of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is understood that trip followed a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it covered protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer meeting with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with them, conducting global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."