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

Significant Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Provisional costs totalling nearly £24.5m for the two working visits have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the UK government's refusal to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both visits were obviously work-related, noting that the American leader held meetings with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his July visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

The former president 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 four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, particularly Police Scotland."

The Scottish government calculates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip alone was £21m, which involved peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were about £3 million.

Complex Security Mission

This complex policing operation was the biggest in the country since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and involved regional police, national divisions, special constables and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

Robison stated: "After 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 visit of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this decision and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The UK government maintained that the trips were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "The Scottish government must cover security expenses in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the British administration covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is believed that visit followed a formal UK government invitation, in which case it included security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster needs to step up and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Particularly when you have the PM Keir Starmer meeting with the president, holding joint briefings with him, conducting international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."