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The UK government is being urged to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5 million cost incurred during recent trips by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

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

Ivan McKee labeled the Westminster's refusal to provide funding as "ridiculous," arguing that both visits were clearly official, noting that the US president held meetings with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his July visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

The former president toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in July, while US vice-president JD Vance spent around four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a formal letter 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 the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for policing the president's trip by itself was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers, while costs for the VP's visit were about £3 million.

Complex Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the biggest in the country since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and involved regional police, national divisions, special constables and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs accrued in connection with the trip of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent visit of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to request that you review this stance and provide full reimbursement for the expense of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

The UK government maintained that the visits were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative added: "Holyrood must cover security expenses in Scotland as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the UK government reimbursed the expense of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is believed that visit came after a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Keir Starmer meeting with Donald Trump, having press conferences with him, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."