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The British administration is being urged to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5 million expense incurred during recent trips by former President Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Substantial Provisional Costs Revealed

Preliminary costs amounting to nearly £24.5 million for the two official trips have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both visits were obviously work-related, noting that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his July stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

Donald Trump toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie over a five-day trip in July, while American VP JD Vance spent approximately a long weekend in Ayrshire in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the visits placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, especially Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which reflected peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

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

Robison wrote: "After your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs accrued in connection with the trip of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP JD Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this stance and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The British administration maintained that the visits were personal and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "Holyrood must cover security expenses in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the UK government reimbursed the expense of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is understood that trip came after a formal UK government invitation, in which case it covered security costs under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster must take action and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir meeting with the president, having press conferences with them, engaging in global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was just a personal vacation."