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

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional costs totalling almost £24.5m for the pair of official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both trips were clearly official, noting 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 visit in the northern nation.

Details of the Trips and Associated Security Expenses

Donald Trump toured his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long period in the summer, while US vice-president Vance spent approximately a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, particularly Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for policing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which reflected peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Complex Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the biggest in the country since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, national divisions, special constables and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this decision and provide full reimbursement for the expense of the trips."

UK Government Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the trips were private and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government must cover policing costs in Scotland as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the British administration reimbursed the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that trip followed a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it covered protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a work visit … Especially when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with him, conducting global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a private holiday trip."