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The UK government is being called upon to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5 million cost incurred during recent visits by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

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

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were clearly work-related, pointing out that the American leader 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.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

Donald Trump visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a week-long period in the summer, while American VP Vance spent approximately a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the visits placed "significant operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for policing 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 £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive policing operation was the largest in Scotland since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved local officers, national divisions, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "Following your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs incurred in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following trip of VP JD Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this stance and offer complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

The UK government stated that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood must cover security expenses in the country as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the UK government covered the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is believed that trip came after a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer meeting with the president, holding joint briefings with him, conducting international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a private holiday trip."