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The UK government is being called upon to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during the recent trips by former President Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a top Holyrood official.

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary costs totalling nearly £24.5m for the two official trips have been made public by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the Westminster's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both visits were clearly work-related, pointing out that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his July visit in the northern nation.

Details of the Trips and Related Policing Costs

Donald Trump visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long period in July, while American VP 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 "substantial operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, particularly Police Scotland."

The Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for policing the president's trip by itself was £21 million, which reflected maximum daily assignments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Complex Security Mission

This complex policing operation was the biggest in Scotland since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved local officers, specialist units, special constables and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

Robison wrote: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs incurred in connection with the visit of Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the following visit of VP Vance, I am writing you to request that you review this stance and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the visits."

UK Government Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration stated that the trips were personal and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "Holyrood are responsible for policing costs in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the UK government reimbursed the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that visit came after a official UK government invitation, in which case it covered protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a official trip … Particularly when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with them, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."