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

Substantial Provisional Costs Revealed

Provisional costs amounting to almost £24.5 million for the two working visits have been made public by the Scottish government.

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

Particulars of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie over a week-long period in the summer, while US vice-president JD Vance spent approximately four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

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 Scottish public services, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government calculates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which reflected maximum daily assignments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3 million.

Complex Security Mission

This complex policing operation 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 specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for expenses accrued in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the following trip 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."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

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

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

"Westminster must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, having press conferences with him, engaging in international business with him, its really hard to believe to say this was just a personal vacation."