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

Significant Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Preliminary expenses amounting to almost £24.5 million for the pair of working visits have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "ridiculous," arguing that both trips were clearly work-related, noting that the US president held meetings with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his July stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long trip in the summer, while US vice-president JD Vance spent around four days in Ayrshire in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, especially the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which reflected peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This complex policing operation was the biggest in the country since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your choice not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the following visit of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this stance and provide full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The British administration maintained that the visits were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "Holyrood are responsible for security expenses in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the British administration reimbursed the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that trip followed a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer meeting with Donald Trump, having press conferences with them, conducting international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."