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

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Provisional costs totalling almost £24.5m for the pair of official trips have been published by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee labeled the Westminster's refusal to offer financial support as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were clearly work-related, noting that the US president held discussions with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his July stay in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Associated Security Expenses

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

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip alone was £21m, which involved peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the largest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved local officers, specialist units, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your choice not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP Vance, I am contacting you to request that you review this stance and offer complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

UK Government Response and Previous Example

The British administration 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 agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to previous precedent where the British administration covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is understood that trip came after a official UK government invitation, in which instance it included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Especially when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, having press conferences with them, engaging in international business with him, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a private holiday trip."