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The British administration is being called upon to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5m cost incurred during the recent trips by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Provisional costs totalling nearly £24.5m for the two official trips have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both trips were clearly work-related, noting that the American leader held discussions with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his July visit in the northern nation.

Details of the Visits and Associated Policing Costs

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

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, especially Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21m, which reflected peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers, while expenses for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

This complex policing operation was the biggest in Scotland 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 stated: "After your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for expenses accrued in connection with the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following visit of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to request that you review this decision and provide complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Response and Previous Example

The UK government maintained that the trips were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "Holyrood are responsible for security expenses in the country as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the UK government covered the expense of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is believed that visit came after a official 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 ridiculous, it was obviously a work visit … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir meeting with Donald Trump, having press conferences with them, conducting global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."