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

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional expenses amounting to almost £24.5m for the two official trips have been made public by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's unwillingness to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both trips were obviously work-related, pointing out that the American leader held discussions with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his July visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Trips and Related Policing Costs

The former president visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a week-long period in the summer, while US vice-president Vance spent approximately a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the visits placed "substantial 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 alone was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the VP's visit were about £3 million.

Complex Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the biggest in Scotland since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included local officers, specialist units, special constables and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

Robison wrote: "After your choice not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses incurred in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the following trip of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this decision and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A representative added: "The Scottish government must cover security expenses in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to previous precedent where the British administration covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is believed that visit came after a formal UK government invitation, in which case it included protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with them, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really hard to believe to say this was just a personal vacation."