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The British administration is being urged to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5 million expense incurred during the recent trips by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Provisional expenses amounting to nearly £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been published by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee labeled the Westminster's refusal to provide funding as "absurd," stating that both trips were clearly work-related, noting that the American leader 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 Visits and Associated Security Expenses

Donald Trump visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long trip in July, while US vice-president Vance spent approximately a long weekend in Ayrshire in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, particularly Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the provisional cost for policing the president's trip alone was £21m, which reflected peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This complex policing operation was the largest in the country since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, specialist units, special constables and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

Robison wrote: "After your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses accrued in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the following visit of VP Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this stance and provide complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

UK Government Reply and Previous Example

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

While Robison referenced past instances where the UK government covered the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that trip followed a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Especially when you have the PM Keir Starmer meeting with the president, holding joint briefings with him, conducting global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."