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The UK government is being urged to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during the recent visits by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Substantial Provisional Costs Revealed

Preliminary costs totalling almost £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been made public by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "absurd," stating that both trips were clearly official, 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 July stay in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in the summer, while US vice-president Vance spent approximately four days in Ayrshire in August.

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

The Scottish government calculates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which involved maximum daily assignments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This extensive policing operation was the largest in Scotland since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and included regional police, 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 costs accrued in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of VP Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this stance and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the visits."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the trips were private and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "Holyrood are responsible for policing costs in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison pointed to previous precedent where the British administration covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is understood that visit followed a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with him, conducting global diplomacy with him, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."