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The UK government is being called upon to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during recent visits by former President Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

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

Ivan McKee labeled the Westminster's unwillingness to offer financial support as "ridiculous," arguing that both visits were clearly official, noting that the American leader held discussions with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in the northern nation.

Details of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

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

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the visits placed "significant operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, particularly Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which reflected maximum daily assignments of more than 4,000 officers, while expenses for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

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

Robison wrote: "After your choice not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for expenses accrued in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent visit of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this stance and offer full reimbursement for the expense of the trips."

UK Government Reply and Previous Example

The UK government stated that the trips were personal and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood must cover security expenses in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison referenced past instances where the British administration reimbursed the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that visit came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with Donald Trump, having press conferences with him, engaging in international business with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."