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The UK government is being urged to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5 million cost incurred during the recent trips by Donald Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Significant Estimated Expenses Disclosed

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

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "absurd," stating that both trips were clearly 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 stay in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

The former president visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in July, while American VP JD Vance spent around a long weekend in Ayrshire in late summer.

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

The Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for securing the presidential visit by itself was £21m, which involved maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the VP's visit were about £3 million.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This complex policing operation was the biggest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and included regional police, specialist units, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

Robison stated: "Following your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for costs accrued in connection with the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to request that you review this stance and offer complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

UK Government Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration stated that the visits were personal and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood must cover security expenses in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the British administration reimbursed the expense of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is understood that visit followed a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster needs to step up and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the PM Keir Starmer meeting with the president, having press conferences with them, conducting international business with him, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."