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The British administration is being urged to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5 million expense incurred during the recent visits by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Significant Estimated Expenses Revealed

Preliminary expenses amounting to nearly £24.5m for the two working visits have been made public by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee labeled the Westminster's refusal to offer financial support as "absurd," arguing that both trips were obviously work-related, pointing out that the US president held discussions with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in the northern nation.

Details of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie over a week-long period in July, while American VP JD Vance spent around four days in Ayrshire in late summer.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the trips placed "significant strains and costs on public services in Scotland, especially Police Scotland."

The Scottish government calculates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which reflected peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This complex security mission was the largest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, specialist units, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in relation to the visit of Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this decision and provide complete repayment for the cost of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A representative added: "Holyrood must cover security expenses in Scotland as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the UK government covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is understood that trip came after a official UK government invitation, in which case it included security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government must take action and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, 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 international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."