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The British administration is being urged to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during the recent visits by Donald Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional expenses totalling almost £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's unwillingness to offer financial support as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were clearly 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 visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Security Expenses

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a five-day period in the summer, while American VP JD Vance spent around a long weekend in Ayrshire in late summer.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the trips placed "significant strains and costs on public services in Scotland, especially the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government calculates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which reflected peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive policing operation was the largest in Scotland since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved local officers, specialist units, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

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

Westminster Response and Past Precedent

The UK government stated that the trips were personal and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson added: "The Scottish government are responsible for policing costs in Scotland as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the UK government reimbursed the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is believed that visit followed a formal invitation from Westminster, in which case it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government needs to step up and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a official trip … Particularly when you have the PM Sir Keir spending time with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with him, conducting international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."