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The UK government is being urged to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during the recent visits by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Scottish minister.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Provisional costs totalling almost £24.5 million for the pair of working visits have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," arguing that both visits were obviously work-related, pointing out that the American leader held meetings with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his July stay in Scotland.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Security Expenses

Donald Trump toured his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day trip in the summer, while American VP Vance spent around four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the trips placed "significant operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, especially Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for securing the presidential visit alone was £21 million, which involved maximum daily assignments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

This complex policing operation was the biggest in Scotland since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, national divisions, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

Robison stated: "After your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following trip of VP JD Vance, I am contacting you to request that you review this decision and provide full reimbursement for the expense of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

The UK government stated that the trips were personal and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "Holyrood must cover policing costs in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to past instances where the UK government reimbursed the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is believed that visit came after a official invitation from Westminster, in which case it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with him, engaging in global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was just a private holiday trip."