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The UK government is being urged to "step up" and cover the £24.5 million cost incurred during recent trips by former President Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional costs totalling almost £24.5m for the pair of official trips have been made public by the Scottish government.

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

Details of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long period in the summer, while US vice-president JD Vance spent around a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

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

The Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for policing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which involved maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were about £3 million.

Complex Security Mission

This complex security mission was the biggest in Scotland since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved local officers, national divisions, special constables and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "Following your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for costs incurred in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this stance and provide full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

UK Government Reply and Previous Example

The British administration maintained that the trips were private and "not official UK government business." A representative commented: "Holyrood must cover policing costs in Scotland as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the UK government reimbursed the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that trip came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with Donald Trump, having press conferences with them, conducting global diplomacy with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a private holiday trip."