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The British administration is being urged to "step up" and cover the £24.5m expense incurred during the recent trips by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Holyrood official.

Significant Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Preliminary expenses totalling almost £24.5 million for the two working visits have been made public by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's refusal to provide funding as "ridiculous," arguing that both trips were clearly official, noting that the American leader held meetings with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his July stay in the northern nation.

Details of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump toured his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie over a five-day period in July, while US vice-president Vance spent approximately four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the visits placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit alone was £21 million, which reflected maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This complex policing operation was the biggest in Scotland since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, national divisions, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

Robison stated: "Following your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for costs accrued in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent visit of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to ask that you reconsider this decision and provide complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the trips were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "The Scottish government must cover policing costs in Scotland as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the British administration reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is understood that visit followed a official UK government invitation, in which case it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with him, conducting international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."