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The British administration is being urged to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5 million expense incurred during recent trips by Donald Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Significant Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Preliminary expenses totalling nearly £24.5m for the two working visits have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the Westminster's refusal to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both trips were obviously work-related, pointing out that the US president held discussions with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

The former president visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a week-long trip in July, while American VP Vance spent around a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the visits placed "significant strains and costs on Scottish public services, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which reflected maximum daily assignments of more than four thousand police, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This extensive policing operation was the largest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, specialist units, special constables and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

Robison wrote: "After your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs accrued in relation to the trip of President Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following trip of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to request that you review this stance and offer complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The UK government stated that the visits were personal and "not official UK government business." A representative commented: "Holyrood must cover security expenses in Scotland as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to previous precedent where the British administration reimbursed the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that trip followed a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. 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 him, conducting global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a private holiday trip."