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The British administration is being urged to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5m cost incurred during recent visits by Donald Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a top Scottish minister.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

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

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the Westminster's unwillingness to offer financial support as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were clearly official, pointing out that the US president held meetings with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his July stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in the summer, while US vice-president JD Vance spent around four days in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government estimates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21m, which reflected maximum daily assignments of more than four thousand police, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

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

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your choice not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs incurred in connection with the trip of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of VP Vance, I am writing you to request that you review this stance and provide complete repayment for the cost of the visits."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the visits were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "Holyrood are responsible for security expenses in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to previous precedent where the British administration reimbursed the expense of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is believed that trip followed a official UK government invitation, in which case it included protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster needs to step up and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a official trip … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with the president, having press conferences with him, conducting global diplomacy with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."