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The British administration is being urged to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5 million cost incurred during the recent trips by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Provisional costs amounting to almost £24.5 million for the two working visits have been made public by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's refusal to offer financial support as "ridiculous," arguing that both visits were clearly official, noting that the American leader held discussions with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Trips and Related Policing Costs

Donald Trump visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long period in the summer, while American VP JD Vance spent approximately a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the trips placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the estimated expense for securing the president's trip alone was £21m, which reflected peak daily deployments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were about £3 million.

Complex Security Mission

This complex security mission was the biggest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved local officers, national divisions, special constables and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "Following your choice not to provide funding to the Scottish government for costs accrued in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following visit of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you review this stance and offer complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Response and Past Precedent

The UK government stated that the trips were private and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "Holyrood must cover security expenses in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the UK government reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is understood that trip came after a formal UK government invitation, in which case it included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer meeting with Donald Trump, having press conferences with them, engaging in international business with them, its really hard to believe to say this was just a private holiday trip."