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The British administration is being called upon to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5 million cost incurred during the recent visits by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary expenses totalling almost £24.5 million for the pair of working visits have been published by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both visits were clearly work-related, noting that the US president held discussions with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in the northern nation.

Details of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie over a five-day trip in July, while American VP JD Vance spent around a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the trips placed "significant strains and costs on Scottish public services, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for securing the president's trip alone was £21 million, which reflected peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3 million.

Complex Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the biggest in the country 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.

Robison stated: "After your choice not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses accrued in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following trip of VP Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this decision and offer complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Response and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the trips were personal and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "Holyrood are responsible for security expenses in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the UK government covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is believed that visit followed a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Especially when you have the PM Keir Starmer meeting with the president, having press conferences with them, conducting global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was just a private holiday trip."