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The British administration is being called upon to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5 million cost incurred during the recent trips by former President Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Scottish minister.

Significant Provisional Costs Revealed

Provisional expenses totalling 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 offer financial support as "ridiculous," stating that both visits were obviously official, pointing out that the US president held discussions with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

Donald Trump toured his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a five-day period in July, while American VP JD Vance spent approximately four days in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the trips placed "significant operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for policing the president's trip alone was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of more than four thousand police, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

This complex policing operation was the biggest in Scotland since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs incurred in relation to the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the subsequent visit of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to request that you reconsider this stance and provide full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The British administration stated that the visits were personal and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "The Scottish government must cover policing costs in Scotland as per established 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 official invitation from Westminster, in which case it covered security costs under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster needs to step up and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir meeting with the president, holding joint briefings with them, conducting international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."