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The British administration is being urged to "step up" and cover the £24.5m cost incurred during recent trips by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional expenses amounting to almost £24.5m for the two official trips have been made public by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's refusal to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were clearly work-related, pointing out that the US president held meetings with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his July stay in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Related Policing Costs

The former president toured his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie over a week-long trip in July, while US vice-president Vance spent around a long weekend in Ayrshire in August.

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

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21m, which involved maximum daily assignments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This complex policing operation was the largest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved local officers, national divisions, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs accrued in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this decision and offer complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Response and Past Precedent

The UK government stated that the trips were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative added: "Holyrood are responsible for security expenses in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to past instances where the British administration covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is believed that trip followed a formal 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 clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the PM Sir Keir spending time with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with him, conducting global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was just a private holiday trip."