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

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional costs totalling nearly £24.5m for the pair of working visits have been made public by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both visits were obviously work-related, noting that the American leader held meetings with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his July stay in the northern nation.

Details of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

The former president toured his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long period in July, while American VP JD Vance spent around a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the trips placed "significant operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, particularly Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the estimated expense for securing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This complex policing operation was the biggest in Scotland since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved local officers, national divisions, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses incurred in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP JD Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this stance and provide full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

UK Government Reply and Previous Example

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

While the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the UK government covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that visit came after a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster needs to step up and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a official trip … Particularly when you have the PM Keir Starmer meeting with Donald Trump, having press conferences with them, conducting international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."