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The British administration is being called upon to "step up" and cover the £24.5m cost incurred during the recent trips by former President Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Significant Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Preliminary expenses totalling nearly £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 offer financial support as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were clearly work-related, noting that the US president held meetings with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in the northern nation.

Details of the Trips and Related Policing Costs

Donald Trump toured his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a week-long period in the summer, while American VP Vance spent approximately four days in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary James 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 Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which involved maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the VP's visit were about £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

This extensive security mission was the largest in the country since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, specialist units, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs incurred in relation to the trip of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President JD Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this decision and provide complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Response and Previous Example

The UK government maintained that the trips were private and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "The Scottish government are responsible for security expenses in the country as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the UK government covered the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is understood that trip followed a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it covered security costs 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 Sir Keir spending time with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with him, engaging in international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."