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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 Scotland, according to a top Scottish minister.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

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

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's refusal to provide funding as "absurd," stating that both trips were obviously work-related, pointing out that the American leader held discussions with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Particulars of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

The former president toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie over a week-long trip in July, while US vice-president Vance spent approximately four days in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the estimated expense for policing the president's trip alone was £21m, which reflected peak daily deployments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the biggest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved local officers, specialist units, special constables and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for expenses incurred in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to request that you review this stance and provide complete repayment for the cost of the visits."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The British administration stated that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood must cover policing costs in Scotland as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison pointed to previous precedent where the British administration covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is believed that trip followed a official invitation from Westminster, in which case it included security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Particularly when you have the PM Keir Starmer meeting with the president, holding joint briefings with them, conducting global diplomacy with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."