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The British administration is being called upon to "step up" and cover the £24.5 million cost incurred during recent visits by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Scottish minister.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional costs totalling almost £24.5m for the pair of official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee labeled the Westminster's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," arguing that both trips were clearly work-related, noting that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his July stay in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Related Policing Costs

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

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the visits placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which involved maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

This extensive security mission was the biggest in Scotland since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and included regional police, national divisions, special constables and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your choice not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses incurred in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to request that you review this decision and provide complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

The UK government stated that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "The Scottish government are responsible for policing costs in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the British administration reimbursed the expense of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is believed that visit came after a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it covered protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the PM Sir Keir spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with him, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a private holiday trip."