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

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Preliminary costs totalling nearly £24.5m for the two official trips have been published by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's unwillingness to offer financial support as "ridiculous," arguing that both visits were obviously work-related, pointing out that the US president held meetings with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

The former president toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a week-long period in July, while US vice-president Vance spent approximately four days in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary 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 estimates that the estimated expense for securing the presidential visit alone was £21 million, which reflected maximum daily assignments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

This complex security mission was the biggest in the country since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved local officers, specialist units, special constables and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

Robison wrote: "After your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses accrued 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 review this decision and offer full reimbursement for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The UK government maintained that the visits were private and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson added: "The Scottish government are responsible for security expenses in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the UK government covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is understood that visit followed a official UK government invitation, in which instance it included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with them, conducting international business with him, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a private holiday trip."