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

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

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

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both trips were obviously official, pointing out that the US president held meetings with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir 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 over a five-day trip in July, while American VP JD 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 wrote that the visits placed "significant operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit alone was £21 million, which involved maximum daily assignments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the VP's visit were about £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive policing operation was the biggest in the country since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and involved local officers, national divisions, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "Following your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for expenses accrued in connection with the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following visit of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this decision and provide complete repayment for the cost of the visits."

Westminster Response and Past Precedent

The UK government 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 funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the British administration covered the expense of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is understood that trip came after a formal UK government invitation, in which case it covered protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Especially when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with them, conducting global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."