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The British administration is being urged to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5m cost incurred during recent visits by former President Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Substantial Provisional Costs Revealed

Provisional costs totalling nearly £24.5m for the two working visits have been published by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support 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 British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Associated Policing Costs

The former president visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long period in July, while American VP JD Vance spent approximately four days in Ayrshire in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, particularly Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip by itself was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This extensive policing operation was the largest in Scotland since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved local officers, national divisions, special constables and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for expenses incurred in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following trip of VP Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this stance and offer complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Reply and Past Precedent

The UK government maintained 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 established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced past instances where the British administration covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is understood that trip came after a official UK government invitation, in which case it included security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer meeting with Donald Trump, having press conferences with him, conducting global diplomacy with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."