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

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Preliminary expenses amounting to nearly £24.5 million for the pair of working visits have been published by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee described the Westminster's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," arguing that both trips were obviously official, noting that the US president held discussions with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

The former president toured his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day trip in July, while American VP JD Vance spent around four days 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 trips placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, especially the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which reflected peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This complex security mission was the largest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, national divisions, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for costs accrued in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to request that you reconsider this decision and provide complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The UK government maintained that the trips were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson commented: "Holyrood are responsible for policing costs in Scotland as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the British administration covered the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that trip came after a official UK government invitation, in which instance it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir 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."