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The UK government is being urged to "take responsibility" 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 senior Holyrood official.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional expenses totalling almost £24.5m for the pair of working visits have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's refusal to offer financial support as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were clearly official, pointing out that the US president held meetings with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his summer stay in the northern nation.

Details of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

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

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the trips placed "significant strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip alone was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Complex Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the biggest in Scotland since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and included regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison wrote: "After your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for costs incurred in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to request that you reconsider this decision and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the visits."

UK Government Reply and Previous Example

The British administration maintained that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "The Scottish government must cover policing costs in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to previous precedent where the UK government covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that trip followed a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a official trip … Particularly when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, having press conferences with him, conducting global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."