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The UK government is being called upon to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5 million cost incurred during recent visits by former President Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a top Holyrood official.

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary expenses amounting to almost £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been published by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both visits were clearly work-related, pointing out that the US president held discussions with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Visits and Associated Policing Costs

Donald Trump toured his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long period in the summer, while American VP Vance spent around a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the visits placed "significant operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit alone was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were about £3m.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This complex security mission was the biggest in Scotland since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, national divisions, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for expenses accrued in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this decision and provide complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

The British administration maintained that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood are responsible for security expenses in the country as per established 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 trip followed a formal UK government invitation, in which case it included security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir meeting with the president, having press conferences with them, conducting international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."