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

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional expenses totalling almost £24.5 million for the two official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "absurd," stating that both trips were obviously work-related, pointing out that the US president held discussions with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his July stay in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Related Policing Costs

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

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, especially the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which involved peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the VP's visit were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This complex policing operation was the biggest in Scotland since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and involved regional police, specialist units, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses incurred in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the subsequent visit of Vice-President JD Vance, I am writing you to request that you reconsider this decision and offer full reimbursement for the expense of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

The British administration maintained that the visits were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "The Scottish government must cover security expenses in the country as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the British administration reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that visit followed a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster needs to step up and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with him, conducting international business with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."