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The British administration is being called upon to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5m expense incurred during the recent trips by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Significant Estimated Expenses Revealed

Provisional costs totalling almost £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been published by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's refusal to offer financial support as "ridiculous," arguing that both trips were obviously official, noting that the US president held discussions with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

Donald Trump visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in the summer, while US vice-president JD Vance spent approximately four days in Ayrshire in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the trips placed "significant strains and costs on Scottish public services, particularly Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for securing the president's trip alone was £21 million, which involved maximum daily assignments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3 million.

Complex Security Mission

This complex security mission was the biggest in Scotland since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved local officers, national divisions, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs accrued in connection with the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of VP Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this stance and offer complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The British administration stated that the visits were private and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government must cover policing costs in Scotland as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison pointed to previous precedent where the UK government reimbursed the expense of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that visit came after a official UK government invitation, in which case it included protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with the president, having press conferences with them, conducting global diplomacy with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."