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

Significant Provisional Costs Revealed

Preliminary costs amounting to almost £24.5m for the pair of working visits have been made public by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's refusal to offer financial support as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were clearly official, noting that the American leader held meetings with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his July visit in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

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

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the visits placed "significant strains and costs on Scottish public services, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which reflected peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

This complex policing operation was the biggest in Scotland since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved local officers, specialist units, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for costs incurred in connection with the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this stance and offer complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Reply and Previous Example

The British administration maintained that the trips were private and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "Holyrood must cover policing costs in Scotland as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the British administration covered the expense of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is understood that visit followed a official UK government invitation, in which instance it covered security costs under its statement of funding policy.

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