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

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional costs totalling nearly £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been made public by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's refusal to offer financial support as "ridiculous," arguing that both trips were clearly work-related, noting that the American leader held meetings with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his July stay in the northern nation.

Details of the Trips and Related Policing Costs

The former president toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a week-long trip in the summer, while US vice-president JD Vance spent approximately a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which reflected peak daily deployments 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 biggest in Scotland since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, national divisions, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

Robison wrote: "After your choice not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent visit of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to request that you reconsider this decision and provide complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

UK Government Response and Previous Example

The British administration stated that the trips were personal and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood must cover policing costs in the country as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to previous precedent where the British administration covered the expense of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that visit came after a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it covered security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a official trip … Particularly when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with the president, having press conferences with them, conducting international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."