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

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

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

Ivan McKee described the UK government's refusal to provide funding as "ridiculous," arguing that both trips were clearly work-related, noting that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his summer visit in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

The former president visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in the summer, while US vice-president Vance spent approximately a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

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

The Scottish government estimates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit alone was £21 million, which involved maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were about £3 million.

Complex Policing Operation

This complex security mission was the largest in Scotland since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, national divisions, special constables and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

Robison wrote: "After your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in connection with the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following visit of VP JD Vance, I am contacting you to request that you review this stance and provide full reimbursement for the expense of the visits."

Westminster Response and Past Precedent

The UK government maintained that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government must cover security expenses in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the British administration covered the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is understood that visit came after a official UK government invitation, in which case it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir meeting with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with him, conducting global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was just a personal vacation."