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The UK government is being urged to "step up" and cover the £24.5 million cost incurred during the recent trips by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Holyrood official.

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary expenses totalling almost £24.5m for the two official trips have been made public by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," arguing that both trips were obviously official, noting that the American leader held discussions with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his July visit in the northern nation.

Details of the Visits and Associated Security Expenses

Donald Trump toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a week-long period in July, while American VP Vance spent around a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary 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 by itself was £21 million, which reflected maximum daily assignments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the VP's visit were about £3 million.

Complex Policing Operation

This extensive policing operation was the biggest in the country since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and included regional police, national divisions, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

Robison wrote: "After your choice not to provide funding to Scotland for costs incurred in relation to the trip of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the following visit of VP Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you review this decision and offer full reimbursement for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Response and Previous Example

The British administration stated that the visits were private and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government are responsible for policing costs in the country as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the British administration reimbursed the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is understood that trip followed a formal invitation from Westminster, in which case it covered protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action 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, holding joint briefings with him, conducting international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."