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The UK government is being called upon to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5 million expense incurred during the recent visits by Donald Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional costs amounting to nearly £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been published by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's unwillingness to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both visits were clearly work-related, noting that the US president held discussions with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his summer visit in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

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

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip by itself was £21 million, which involved maximum daily assignments of more than 4,000 officers, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

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

Robison wrote: "After your choice not to provide funding to the Scottish government for costs incurred in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following visit of Vice-President JD Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this decision and offer complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

The British administration maintained that the visits were personal and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government must cover security expenses in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the British administration reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that trip followed a formal UK government invitation, in which case it covered security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Especially when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, 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."