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The British administration is being urged to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5m cost incurred during recent visits by former President Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Significant Provisional Costs Revealed

Provisional expenses totalling nearly £24.5m for the two working visits have been made public by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the Westminster's refusal to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were obviously official, noting that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his July stay in the northern nation.

Details of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a week-long period in the summer, while US vice-president Vance spent approximately a long weekend in Ayrshire in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip by itself was £21 million, which involved maximum daily assignments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the largest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, national divisions, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your choice not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses accrued in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP Vance, I am writing you to request that you reconsider this decision and provide complete repayment for the cost of the visits."

UK Government Reply and Past Precedent

The UK government maintained that the trips were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "Holyrood are responsible for security expenses in the country as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison referenced 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 covered protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer meeting with the president, holding joint briefings with them, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."