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

Substantial Provisional Costs Revealed

Preliminary costs amounting to nearly £24.5m for the two official trips have been made public by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's refusal to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both visits were obviously official, pointing out that the US president held meetings with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his July visit in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long period in July, while US vice-president JD Vance spent approximately four days in Ayrshire in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the visits placed "significant operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government calculates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit alone was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

This complex security mission was the biggest in Scotland since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included local officers, specialist units, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs accrued in connection with the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following trip of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you review this decision and provide complete repayment for the cost of the visits."

UK Government Reply and Past Precedent

The UK government stated that the trips were private and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood are responsible for security expenses in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to past instances where the UK government reimbursed the expense of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that visit came after a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it covered protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir meeting with Donald Trump, having press conferences with him, conducting international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a private holiday trip."