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The British administration is being urged to "step up" and cover the £24.5m cost incurred during the recent visits by former President Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Significant Estimated Expenses Revealed

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

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the Westminster's refusal to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both visits were clearly work-related, pointing out that the American leader held meetings with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his summer visit in the northern nation.

Details of the Trips and Associated Security Expenses

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

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the trips placed "significant 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 £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers, while expenses for the VP's visit were about £3m.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This complex security mission was the biggest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved regional police, national divisions, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs incurred in connection with the trip of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following visit of VP Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this stance and provide complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

UK Government Reply and Previous Example

The UK government maintained that the trips were personal and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood are responsible for policing costs in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the British administration reimbursed the expense of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is understood that trip followed a official UK government invitation, in which instance it covered protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with them, conducting global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."