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

Significant Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Provisional expenses totalling almost £24.5m for the two official trips have been published by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "ridiculous," arguing that both visits were obviously work-related, noting that the US president held meetings with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his July visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

The former president toured his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in the summer, while American VP Vance spent approximately four days in Ayrshire in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the visits placed "significant operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the provisional cost for policing the president's trip alone was £21 million, which reflected peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3 million.

Complex Policing Operation

This extensive security mission was the largest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved local officers, national divisions, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs incurred in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the following trip of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this decision and provide full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

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

While the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the British administration covered the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is believed that visit came after a formal UK government invitation, in which case it covered protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster needs to step up and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the PM Sir Keir meeting with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with them, conducting international business with him, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."