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The UK government is being urged to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5m cost incurred during the recent trips by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Holyrood official.

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional expenses amounting to nearly £24.5m for the pair of official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," arguing that both trips were clearly work-related, noting that the American leader held discussions with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his July visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Visits and Associated Security Expenses

The former president visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day trip in July, while US vice-president JD Vance spent approximately a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

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

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which reflected peak daily deployments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were about £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive policing operation was the biggest in Scotland since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved local officers, specialist units, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison wrote: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for expenses accrued in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following visit of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this stance and provide complete repayment for the cost of the visits."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The UK government stated that the visits were personal and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson commented: "Holyrood are responsible for policing costs in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison referenced past instances where the UK government reimbursed the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is understood that visit came after a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it covered protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster needs to step up and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with him, conducting international business with him, its really hard to believe to say this was just a private holiday trip."