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The UK government is being urged to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during the recent visits by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

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

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's refusal to offer financial support as "absurd," arguing that both trips were clearly official, 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 the northern nation.

Details of the Visits and Associated Security Expenses

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

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

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the provisional cost for policing the president's trip alone was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were about £3 million.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This complex security mission was the biggest in the country since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, national divisions, special constables and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison wrote: "After your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for expenses accrued in relation to the trip of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to request that you review this decision and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the visits."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The British administration maintained that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "The Scottish government are responsible for security expenses in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the UK government covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is believed that trip came after a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it covered security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government needs to step up and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir meeting with Donald Trump, having press conferences with them, engaging in international business with him, its really hard to believe to say this was just a personal vacation."