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The UK government is being called upon to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5 million expense incurred during the recent trips by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Scottish minister.

Significant Estimated Expenses Revealed

Preliminary costs amounting to nearly £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's refusal to provide funding as "absurd," stating that both trips were obviously work-related, pointing out that the American leader held discussions with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his July visit in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump toured his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day trip in the summer, while US vice-president Vance spent approximately a long weekend in Ayrshire in August.

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

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21m, which involved peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were about £3 million.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This extensive policing operation was the biggest in Scotland since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved regional police, national divisions, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your choice not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for expenses accrued 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 reconsider this stance and provide full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

UK Government Reply and Past Precedent

The UK government maintained that the visits were private and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "The Scottish government are responsible for security expenses in Scotland as per established 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 Scotland, it is believed that trip followed a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir meeting with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with him, conducting global diplomacy with him, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a private holiday trip."