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The UK government is being called upon to "step up" and cover the £24.5m cost incurred during recent visits by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a top Scottish minister.

Significant Provisional Costs Revealed

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

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," arguing that both trips were clearly work-related, pointing out that the American leader held discussions with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his July stay in the northern nation.

Details of the Visits and Associated Policing Costs

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

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

The Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for policing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which involved maximum daily assignments of more than 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the biggest in Scotland since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved local officers, specialist units, special constables and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to request that you review this decision and provide complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The UK government maintained that the visits were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative added: "Holyrood are responsible for policing costs in the country as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the UK government covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is believed that visit came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it covered protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir meeting with the president, holding joint briefings with him, conducting international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."