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The British administration is being urged to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5 million expense incurred during the recent visits by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Provisional expenses totalling nearly £24.5m for the pair of working visits have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's refusal to offer financial support as "absurd," arguing that both visits were clearly official, noting that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day trip in July, while American VP Vance spent approximately four days in Ayrshire in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip alone was £21 million, which involved maximum daily assignments of more than 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This complex security mission was the biggest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, national divisions, special constables and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "Following your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in connection with the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of VP Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this stance and provide complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The British administration maintained that the trips were private 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 Robison pointed to previous precedent where the UK government reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that trip came after a official invitation from Westminster, in which case it included security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster needs to step up and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir meeting with Donald Trump, having press conferences with them, conducting international business with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."