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

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional costs totalling almost £24.5m for the two working visits have been made public by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's refusal to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both visits were clearly official, noting 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 summer stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Visits and Associated Security Expenses

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a week-long trip in July, while US vice-president Vance spent around a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, especially the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21m, which involved maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3 million.

Complex Security Mission

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

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs incurred in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the following visit of VP JD Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this stance and offer complete repayment for the cost of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "Holyrood must cover security expenses in Scotland as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the UK government covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that trip followed a formal invitation from Westminster, in which case it covered security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government must take action and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a official trip … Particularly when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer meeting with the president, having press conferences with him, engaging in international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."