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The British administration is being called upon to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5 million cost incurred during recent visits by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Substantial Provisional Costs Revealed

Provisional costs amounting to almost £24.5m for the pair of working visits have been published by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee labeled the Westminster's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were obviously official, noting that the US president held meetings with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister 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 and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in July, while US vice-president Vance spent approximately a long weekend in Ayrshire in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the provisional cost for policing the president's trip alone was £21 million, which involved maximum daily assignments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Complex Security Mission

This extensive policing operation was the biggest in Scotland since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved local officers, national divisions, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "Following your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for expenses incurred in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the subsequent visit of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you review this decision and provide complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

The British administration stated that the trips were personal and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson added: "The Scottish government are responsible for security expenses in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

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

"Westminster needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with the president, having press conferences with them, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a private holiday trip."