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The British administration is being urged to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5 million expense incurred during the recent trips by Donald Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Scottish minister.

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary expenses amounting to nearly £24.5 million for the pair of working visits have been made public by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," arguing that both visits were obviously official, pointing out that the US president held discussions with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his summer stay in the northern nation.

Details of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day trip in the summer, while American VP JD Vance spent around four days in Ayrshire in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the trips placed "significant strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the estimated expense for policing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which reflected maximum daily assignments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the VP's visit were about £3m.

Complex Security Mission

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

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your choice not to provide funding to the Scottish government for costs accrued in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President JD Vance, I am writing you to request that you reconsider this stance and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the visits."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The British administration stated that the visits were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "The Scottish government must cover policing costs in Scotland as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the British administration reimbursed the expense of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that trip followed a official UK government invitation, in which instance it included security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a work visit … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with them, conducting global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."