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

Substantial Provisional Costs Revealed

Preliminary costs amounting to almost £24.5m for the pair of official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the Westminster's refusal to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were obviously official, pointing out that the US president held discussions with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his July visit in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Visits and Associated Security Expenses

The former president toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in the summer, while US vice-president JD Vance spent around a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the visits placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for securing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which reflected peak daily deployments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This complex security mission was the largest in Scotland since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved regional police, specialist units, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "Following your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses accrued in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this stance and offer complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration stated 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 the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the British administration reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is believed that visit came after a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with the president, having press conferences with them, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really hard to believe to say this was just a private holiday trip."