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

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

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

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both visits were clearly work-related, noting that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

The former president toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long trip in July, while US vice-president Vance spent around a long weekend in Ayrshire in late summer.

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

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

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the largest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

Robison wrote: "Following your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses accrued in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of VP Vance, I am writing you to ask that you reconsider this decision and offer complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

UK Government Reply and Previous Example

The British administration stated that the trips were private and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government are responsible for security expenses in Scotland as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the UK government reimbursed the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is believed that visit came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government needs to step up and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Particularly when you have the PM Sir Keir spending time with Donald Trump, having press conferences with him, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really hard to believe to say this was just a personal vacation."