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

Significant Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Preliminary expenses totalling nearly £24.5 million for the two official trips have been made public by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the UK government's refusal to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both visits were clearly work-related, pointing out that the American leader held discussions with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a week-long period in the summer, while US vice-president JD Vance spent around a long weekend in Ayrshire in late summer.

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

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

Complex Policing Operation

This complex policing operation was the largest in the country since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, national divisions, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

Robison stated: "After your choice not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the following visit of VP Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this stance and offer full reimbursement for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Response and Previous Example

The UK government stated that the trips were personal and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "The Scottish government must cover security expenses in the country as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison pointed to previous precedent where the British administration reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is understood that trip followed a formal UK government invitation, in which case it covered security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a official trip … Particularly when you have the PM Sir Keir spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with them, conducting international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."