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

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary costs amounting to nearly £24.5 million for the two official trips have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were obviously official, noting that the US president held meetings with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump toured his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long period in the summer, while American VP JD Vance spent approximately four days in Ayrshire in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government estimates that the estimated expense for securing the president's trip alone was £21m, which involved peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Complex Security Mission

This complex security mission was the biggest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, national divisions, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your choice not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses incurred in connection with the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following trip of Vice-President JD Vance, I am writing you to request that you review this decision and provide complete repayment for the cost of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

The UK government stated that the trips were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "The Scottish government must cover security expenses in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to previous precedent where the British administration reimbursed the expense of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that trip came after a official UK government invitation, in which case it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir meeting with the president, holding joint briefings with him, engaging in international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."