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The UK government is being called upon to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5m cost incurred during recent visits by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Preliminary costs totalling almost £24.5m for the two working visits have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's refusal to offer financial support as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were clearly official, 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.

Details of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump 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 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 stated that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

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

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive policing operation was the largest in Scotland since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, specialist units, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for costs incurred in relation to the trip of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP JD Vance, I am contacting you to request that you review this stance and offer complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The British administration stated that the visits were private and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government must cover policing costs in the country as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to previous precedent where the British administration covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that trip came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a official trip … Particularly when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer meeting with Donald Trump, having press conferences with them, conducting international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."