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The UK government is being called upon to "step up" and cover the £24.5m cost incurred during the recent trips by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Significant Provisional Costs Revealed

Preliminary costs amounting to almost £24.5m for the pair of working visits have been published by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both visits were obviously official, pointing out that the US president held meetings with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his July visit in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Associated Security Expenses

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

In a written communication to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the trips placed "significant operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, especially Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

This complex security mission was the largest in Scotland since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, specialist units, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

Robison wrote: "After your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in relation to the trip of President Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President JD Vance, I am writing you to request that you review this stance and provide complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

The UK government stated that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood must cover security expenses in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the British administration reimbursed the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that trip followed a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it covered security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir meeting with the president, holding joint briefings with them, engaging in international business with him, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."