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The UK government is being called upon to "step up" and cover the £24.5m expense incurred during the recent trips by former President Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a top Scottish minister.

Significant Provisional Costs Revealed

Preliminary expenses amounting to nearly £24.5m for the pair of official trips have been published by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee labeled the Westminster's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," arguing that both trips were clearly official, noting that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his July visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

The former president visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie over a five-day period in the summer, while American VP Vance spent around four days in Ayrshire in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the visits placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, especially the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the estimated expense for securing the president's trip alone was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Complex Security Mission

This extensive policing operation was the largest in Scotland since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and involved regional police, national divisions, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison wrote: "After your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs accrued in connection with the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of VP JD Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this stance and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the visits."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The UK government maintained that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A representative added: "Holyrood must cover policing costs in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the British administration covered the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that trip followed a official invitation from Westminster, in which case 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 … Particularly when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with the president, having press conferences with him, engaging in international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a private holiday trip."