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The UK government is being urged to "step up" and cover the £24.5m cost incurred during recent visits by Donald Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a top Scottish minister.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary expenses amounting to nearly £24.5 million for the pair of working visits have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's refusal to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both trips were clearly work-related, noting that the American leader held discussions with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his July visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Trips and Related Policing Costs

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie over a week-long trip in the summer, while US vice-president Vance spent approximately four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

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

The Scottish government calculates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21m, which reflected peak daily deployments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were about £3 million.

Complex Policing Operation

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

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your choice not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses incurred in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this decision and offer complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Response and Past Precedent

The UK government 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 established devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the UK government covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is believed that trip followed a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it covered security costs under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster needs to step up and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a work visit … Especially when you have the prime minister Sir Keir meeting with the president, holding joint briefings with him, conducting international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."