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

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Provisional expenses totalling almost £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been published by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's refusal to offer financial support as "ridiculous," stating that both visits were obviously work-related, pointing out that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

The former president visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a five-day trip in the summer, while US vice-president JD Vance spent approximately four days in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, particularly Police Scotland."

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

Complex Policing Operation

This extensive security mission was the largest in the country since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and included regional police, specialist units, special constables and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "Following your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for costs incurred in connection with the trip of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following trip of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this decision and offer complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

UK Government Response and Previous Example

The British administration maintained that the trips were private and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "The Scottish government must cover policing costs in Scotland as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the British administration covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is understood that visit followed a formal invitation from Westminster, in which case it covered protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the prime minister Sir Keir meeting with Donald Trump, having press conferences with them, conducting international business with him, its really hard to believe to say this was just a personal vacation."