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

Significant Estimated Expenses Revealed

Preliminary expenses totalling almost £24.5 million for the two official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "ridiculous," arguing that both visits were obviously official, pointing out that the US president held discussions with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his summer visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

Donald Trump visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in July, while US vice-president Vance spent around four days in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

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

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which involved maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were about £3 million.

Complex Security Mission

This complex security mission was the largest in Scotland since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses accrued in connection with the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following visit of VP Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you review this decision and offer full reimbursement for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the trips were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "The Scottish government must cover policing costs in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the British administration covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is understood that visit came after a official invitation from Westminster, in which case it included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer meeting with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with him, engaging in international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."