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The British administration is being called upon to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5 million cost incurred during recent trips by Donald Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional expenses totalling nearly £24.5 million for the two official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the UK government's refusal to provide funding as "absurd," stating that both visits were obviously work-related, pointing out that the US president held discussions with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

Donald Trump visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie over a five-day period in July, while US vice-president JD Vance spent around a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in August.

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

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This extensive security mission was the biggest in the country since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, national divisions, special constables and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for expenses incurred in relation to the trip of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following trip of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this decision and offer complete repayment for the cost of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the trips were private and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood must cover security expenses in Scotland as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced past instances where the British administration reimbursed the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that trip followed a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir meeting with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with him, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a private holiday trip."