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The British administration is being called upon to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5 million expense incurred during recent trips by former President Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional expenses amounting to nearly £24.5m for the two working visits have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's refusal to offer financial support as "ridiculous," arguing that both visits were obviously 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 summer visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Visits and Associated Security Expenses

The former president toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day trip in July, while US vice-president JD Vance spent approximately four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a written communication 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 provisional cost for policing the presidential visit alone was £21 million, which reflected peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This complex security mission was the biggest in Scotland since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved local officers, specialist units, special constables and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "Following your choice not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs accrued in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the following trip of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this decision and provide full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The UK government maintained that the visits were personal and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "Holyrood are responsible for policing costs in the country as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced past instances where the British administration covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that visit came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which case it covered security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, having press conferences with them, conducting international business with them, its really hard to believe to say this was just a private holiday trip."